My friends! Luis and Jordin Rivera kept me sane, and Luis let me spoil this book over and over while I was drafting to keep me hyped about the story, and he hooked me up with great ideas like the secret subway station. Elliot Knight was the first person to hear me read from this book, which was especially meaningful in ways that are obvious to us and don’t have to be laid out on this page. Becky Albertalli put up with me as I cycled through a million different potential narrators for this book. David Arnold for staying my bro/fake husband and Jasmine Warga for being the only person I want to eat (vegan) candy with in a bathtub. Arvin Ahmadi for hyping up my third-person writing like it’s the best which means a lot since Arvin is the best so there’s a lot of best-ing happening here. Sabaa Tahir for always letting me know when I get something right and helping me figure it out when I got it wrong. Robbie Couch for all the pastries I come home to after he’s been housesitting for me (and other sweet friend stuff too but mainly the vegan snacks!). Victoria Aveyard, whom I’m starting to suspect doesn’t live in Los Angeles because we never see each other here, but I love that we text a lot. Alex Aster, a new friend who became a great friend as quickly as it takes for her to record a TikTok aka super fast. Angie Thomas for writing a prequel before me so I could bother her on what goes into it. Marie Lu, Tahereh Mafi, and Ransom Riggs—I’ve always admired these incredible humans, and I’ve been lucky enough to get closer to them during my time out in Los Angeles. Rebecca Serle, I’m so proud of our journeys, both personally and professionally. And Nicola and David Yoon, I love their big hearts—especially because it means they won’t unfriend me even though I curse too fucking much.

This book wouldn’t have been completed without my group chat switching over to a Zoom room so we could all hit our deadlines. Dhonielle Clayton, our Zoom host who banished me to naps when I yawned too much. Mark Oshiro, our time-tracker who ended our sessions with the voice of a heavenly masseuse. (Unlike that time where I called everyone back with scary demonic growls I found on YouTube.) Patrice Caldwell for not quitting the group chat when we were all freaking out about our deadlines. (And shoutout to Ashley Woodfolk and Zoraida Cordova for their special appearances!)