Thank you to the inhabitants of the many teachers’ rooms I have graced over the course of my different jobs. I was so lucky to be surrounded by scholars in all the topics that I am no expert in who I could pepper with esoteric questions that helped me craft this world and bring in relevant aspects of real history. And a special thank you to Milana Korchman because I never would have kept writing this story if it weren’t for your early enthusiasm and gossiping about my characters between our classes. Thank you also to Adina Kastner who went from being an English teacher buddy to a writing buddy and a constant source of encouragement.

Thank you to my parents (and stepparents), for raising me to have the drive and belief in myself to start and finish this project, and for doing so with a love for art and music that helped inspire the themes of this book. I promise none of the parents in this book are based on you!

Thank you, Moshe. You may be sick of hearing me talk about anything to do with publishing, but you only have yourself to blame since you are the one who encouraged me to take my writing seriously. All these years, you have been the person keeping our home––and my sanity––running even when book deadlines left you feeling like a single father. Thank you for being such a loving partner who helps bring out my best self. If anyone ever thinks I am good at writing love interests, they have you to thank for being the perfect muse. And thank you to our little bear, who taught me the true potential of what a human can create and the truest meaning of love.

Last but not least, thank you to every single reader, bookseller, librarian, and influencer who ever recommends this story to someone new and helps it find its audience.

Lamnatzeach b’niginot mizmor shir. For the Conductor, a song.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

ANDREA MAX previously worked as a clinical social worker but then became an English teacher so she could talk about books for a living. The inspiration for much of her world-building comes from the Jewish traditions and history with which she was raised. Like her main character, she has a bad habit of starting art projects she’ll never finish and might also have been in one or two inconvenient love triangles. Andrea wishes she could claim that she would guild as an Artisan or a Mystic, but the truth is that she is a Sophist through and through. She lives on the East Coast with her family, her coffee machine, and not enough bookshelves. You can find her at andrea-max.com.

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Margaret K. McElderry Books

Simon & Schuster, New York

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