Hold Still (27 page)

To Jessica Jacobs, one of this book’s very first readers: thank you for being so confident that my scattered, fragmented scenes would someday become a novel, and for your sound advice and encouragement through every stage of this process. To Vanessa Micale, Rachel Murawski, Evan Pricco, and Eli Harris: thank you for your insights, your support, and your friendship. To Eric Levy: I don’t know how I would have written a query letter without you. To Charlotte Ribar and Sophie Smyer: reading your comments delighted and helped me more than you could imagine. To Mandy Harris: thank you for getting my manuscript ready to send out into the world. To Mia Nolting: thank you for pouring so much artistic energy into this book, even before you were hired to do it. To my best friend, Amanda Krampf: thank you for being my high school partner in crime. I’m so glad we met at that bus stop.

To my teachers from elementary school through graduate school: you worked so hard, and you were wonderful. I am especially thankful to George Hegarty, Dr. Ruth Saxton, and Yiyun Li. To Kathryn Reiss: thank you for teaching me about children’s literature, and for your valuable feedback and encouragement on this book. And to Isabel: thank you for my first fan letter.

Finally, to Kristyn Stroble: thank you for reading every word of every draft, and for crying at all the right parts. Most of all, thank you for making me so happy. Without you, this would not have been possible.