My agent, Elana Roth Parker, for, as ever, supporting my wild ideas and career pivots and barrage of text messages. You are my calm port in the tumultuous sea of publishing.

The entire team at Crown and Random House, especially Phoebe Yeh, who still shocks me by reading my books and saying nice things about them. To amazing copy editors who continue to save me time and time again from my own carelessness: thank you, Melinda Ackell and Elizabeth Johnson. Casey Moses, cover designer extraordinaire, thank you so much for responding to my Instagram DMs and being literally the best cover designer a girl could ask for. When I saw the first cover concept I legit screamed. You’re brilliant. Thank you to cover photographer Maggie Holmgren and stylist Derek Svitko. Kimberly Small, Sarah Lawrenson, Kathy Dunn, Natali Cavanagh, Erica Stone, Michael Caiati, the entire Get Underlined team, and everyone I’m surely missing at Random House sales, publicity, and digital marketing for all your support of The Ivies and Pretty Dead Queens.

Natalie Simpson, Jessica Van Allen, and Britney Brouwer for critical reads (and rereads) as I was drafting. Jessica, especially, for checking me on The Youth as needed and listening to every bonkers idea I had for this book along the way. To so many who read versions at various points: MK Pagano, J. Elle, Laura Kadner, Kara Kennedy, Devon Harry, Leighton Williams, Katherine DiGilio, and FT Zahra. Lexie Krauss for offering your invaluable local knowledge and letting Deputy Shields live on as your name twin. Jennieke Cohen for video-call check-ins and for reading with a keen and thoughtful eye. To Aziza Aba Butain for the swanky LA hangouts and for lending me your sister’s beautiful name for Reama. Victoria Van Fleet for a marathon coffee-shop session that helped me finish!

I couldn’t have made it through the pandemic (even though we’re still sort of in it!) and particularly the highs and lows of this book (and The Ivies release) without the support in DMs and on video chat from so many friends (some already accounted for), including Lainey Kress, Deeba Zargarpur, Gretchen Schreiber, Mary E. Roach, Sophie Gonzales, Kara Thomas, Emmy Neal, Alex Brown, Alyssa Colman, Miranda Johnson, Mara/bookslikewhoa, Bethany Pullen, Amy Tintera, Liselle Sambury, Laura Fussell, Kevin Savoie, Lindsay Puckett, Diana Urban, Kevin van Whye, Emily Wibberley, Rebecca Schaeffer, Adrienne Kisner, Nisha Sharma, Liz Parker, Mary Elizabeth Summer, Emma Theriault, Emily Lloyd-Jones, Dana Mele, Amerie, Heather Kaczynski, Elly Takaki, and more I’m sure I am missing. Good friends are hard to find and you are all gems.

Thank you to Jason Mitchell for answering all my questions about local sheriffs and law enforcement—any inaccuracies remaining are 100% on me, taken in the name of creative liberties.