A lot of what we know about space has changed since 1986 too. For example, when Nova was in school, there were nine planets, but in 2006, Pluto’s status was downgraded, so today there are eight, and Neptune, which was thought to have two moons, actually has fourteen. We also have an International Space Station now, in which astronauts from the United States, Russia, Japan, and Europe continuously orbit the Earth, and in 2015 liquid water was discovered on Mars, though people can’t vacation there…yet!

Acknowledgments

Writing a book is a little like traveling to the moon—in both cases, without your crew to help and guide you, you’ll never get off the ground. I was therefore fortunate to have an amazing crew working with me to make Planet Earth Is Blue the best it could be.

At the start, there was Katy Loutzenhiser, my critique partner and author of If You’re Out There. Thanks for meeting me at cafés all over Brooklyn to write, vent, and consume too much caffeine. For the years of encouragement, beta reading, and/or patiently listening, thank you to Jennifer Kuhn, Dean Kubota, Candace Rosas, Tonya Brock, and Kris Allard.

I wouldn’t have been able to write much of anything without the support of my family. To my mom, Ann, for whom books are like Benadryl, thank you for almost making it through the whole first chapter before falling asleep and for sharing Book News with everyone in the Veterans of Foreign Wars Auxiliary. A thousand thanks also go to my dad, Tim (who wants me to write his book next), and my brother, Tyler (who fed my vicious kitten, Shakespeare, when I was away), plus Meme, Pepe, Grandma, Abi, Amelia, Deb, and Loren. And to the seven incredible kids to whom this book is dedicated: a rainbow of emoji hearts.

To agent extraordinaire Katie Grimm, who said she cried and read the book in one sitting, I am so sorry for being so happy about making you cry! Thank you for helping me make Nova’s story tighter and richer and better. I genuinely couldn’t ask for—or imagine—a better agent.

My dream editor, as I told Katie, has long been Wendy Lamb, and I am beyond appreciative to Wendy and to assistant editor Dana Carey for their insight, inquiries, notes, and edits. The entire process has been incredible, and I am grateful to have had you both to work with (and guide me). Caroline Gertler and Sylvia Al-Mateen also made helpful suggestions.