In no particular order, many thanks…
To Stephen Barbara, the ultimate hustler and the greatest agent in the world; to Lexa Hillyer, for being the first to read any part of Before I Fall and love it; to the incredible Brenda Bowen, for being the first to believe in it; and to the wonderful Molly O’Neill, for her enthusiasm and for making me believe.
To Rosemary Brosnan, for her intelligence, acuity, and sensitivity; to everyone at HarperTeen, for the insane quantities of support and for giving me Magnolia cupcakes when I was jet-lagged.
To Cameron McClure of the Donald Maas Literary Agency, for her hard work and continued advocacy on behalf of the book.
To DUB Pies in Brooklyn for keeping me caffeinated and happy.
To Dujeous, for the generous use of their lyrics. Check them out at www.dujeous.net.
To Mary Davison, who might teach us all something about living life to the fullest.
To all of my amazing, brilliant friends, for inspiring and challenging me; and in particular to Patrick Manasse, for being a patient listener and a tough critic.
To Olivier, for being immensely supportive, even when I was struggling.
To Deirdre Fulton, Jacqueline Novak, and Laura Smith, a single word: love.
To my parents, for filling our house with books I could fall in love with—and later, for encouraging me to pursue my dreams—and always, for their constant love and support.
To my brilliant sister, for being someone I will always look up to.
And lastly, to Pete: For encouraging me to go to graduate school and helping me get on my feet once I did; for letting me frantically edit in Harbor Springs; for always being so proud of me; and because whatever I was writing, I was always trying to write my way back to you.