Author’s Note

Although exact numbers are hard to come by, the Pew Research Center estimates that around eleven million people currently live undocumented in the United States. Like Robbie’s mother, many of these people have close family and friends in America.

In researching this book, I read articles and books, and viewed documentaries about immigration. I also interviewed and discussed details of Mrs. Diaz’s fictionalized case with a law student and immigration activist who has worked with numerous clients going through deportation proceedings. I wanted to ensure the information presented in the book was as accurate as possible. That being said, any factual errors in the manuscript are my own.

Acknowledgments

The creation of a book, much like a start-up, is a group effort. Therefore, I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge, endlessly thank and scream from the rooftops about all those who were the Robbie to my Sara on this project. (Or the Sara to my Robbie. I’m not quite sure, but safe to say, we were Braden-free.)

First, thank you to my rock-star agent, Nicole Resciniti, and to everyone at The Seymour Agency. Thank you, Nicole, for putting up with a number of time zones and changing schedules and hopping on the phone with me to talk through everything from new ideas to minor plot points. You are my confidant, champion, beta reader and friend. Thank you for taking a chance on me when I was still in high school.

Thank you to everyone at Inkyard Press, and the wider HarperCollins family. To Leslie Wanger, who first welcomed me to Harlequin TEEN/HarperCollins. Thank you to my editor, Natashya Wilson, whose insight on this project was invaluable, as it is on so many things. I owe you a debt of gratitude for helping me cut through the tangents and confusion and find the core of this story, and what it needed to say. Thank you also to Gabby Vicedomini, for your encouragement and insightful notes. Thank you to Laura Gianino and everyone in publicity and marketing, for helping readers find stories.

Thank you to Kathleen Oudit and Laci Ann Shaffer, for a beautiful, thematically resonate and fun cover.

Thank you to the writers who have inspired me with their words. Thank you particularly to Sandhya Menon, Elizabeth Acevedo, Angelo Surmelis, Tiffany Jackson, Misa Sugiura, Caleb Roehrig and Gloria Chao. It is surreal and an absolute honor to have shared a panel or stage with authors I admire so.

Thank you to Joelle Charbonneau, who took the time to give me advice and encouragement, even in the midst of deadlines and a rock-star tour schedule. Thanks also to Hannah Orenstein, whose advice on fiction and journalism has been so helpful, and whose words resonate deeply with me and so many other young women.

Thank you to Christa Desir and Julie Cross. It means so much to receive encouragement from those I look up to.