To the brilliant author friends I’m so lucky to have had as my earliest readers from first book to ninth, Marieke Nijkamp and Maggie Hall—I don’t know how I would function in this world without you. You are both so brilliant and talented and make everything I do better and I love you gross amounts. And to Katherine Locke, thank you for walking me through every step of every dramatic turn of my life and career; if only you would alphabetize your bookcases you would be perfect.

Thank you to Anna-Marie McLemore for your early read and for your friendship in general—we’ll always have Kalinda. Immeasurable thanks, too, to everyone who gave notes that helped make this book the best version of itself, including Katelyn Detweiler, Allie Levick, and especially Sari Fallas Linder, who let this very Ashkenazi author pick her beautiful Syrian brain.

I’m grateful to Jenn Marie Thorne, AK Furukawa, and Cam Montgomery for letting me throw my manuscript at them before I was ready to let it out into the world. Thank you to Becky Albertalli for all your support, always, and texts that keep me sane. I’m so grateful to her, Aminah Mae Safi, Jennifer Dugan, and Jen Wilde for the kind words on this book in particular and for dazzling my bookshelves in general.

Much love to all the friends who are there for me ad nauseum whether about publishing, parenting, or life in general, including but not limited to Emery Lord, Rick Lipman, Becca Podos, Eric Smith, Patrice Caldwell, Lev Rosen, Sona Charaipotra, Tess Sharpe, Jess Capelle, Sharon Morse, and the best digital quarantine-group buddies I could’ve asked for, Kind of a Big Deal [eggplant emoji] and “BFFs” Barrie, Liz, and Sasha.

Love to all my fellow book bloggers/media out there, especially those like Danika Leigh Ellis, YA Pride, the Lesbrary, and Tirzah Price, who do the work to help queer readers find the books that might fall through the cracks. Special shoutout to both Buzzfeed’s YA team of Zoraida Córdova, Rachel Strolle, and our leader, Farrah Penn, and the people who’ve helped me keep LGBTQ Reads together this past year, including Rachel, Mark O’Brien, Shauna Morgan, and all the generous donors and patrons.

Deep gratitude to various other contributors to the writing of this book, especially the makers of Evernote, the Foo Fighters for “The Sky Is a Neighborhood,” the Hilton Garden Inn Outer Banks/Kitty Hawk, Cheez-Its (especially whoever came up with kosher bacon-flavored ones), and, of course, Demi Lovato, whose strength and openness constantly awe me.

Most of all, thanks and love to my Adler and Fisch families. I am the luckiest wife, mom, daughter, sister, and aunt in the world, and I am so grateful for everything you make possible.

Also by Dahlia Adler

Also by Dahlia Adler

NOVELS

Behind the Scenes

Under the Lights

Just Visiting

Last Will and Testament

Right of First Refusal