A Lesson in Vengeance(97)

Thank you, also, to my agents, Holly Root and Taylor Haggerty, who—when I described this book to them over the phone—stopped me one sentence into the pitch and told me to drop everything and write it. Right now. I’m so lucky to have these two as my agents, not least because I know they’ll always tell me to write the thing I’m most passionate about, and that will always, always be the right choice.

To my editor at Delacorte, Krista Marino, thank you for seeing these girls so clearly and for loving Dalloway and its horrors. This book is so much stronger thanks to your input, and I can’t wait to see what other twisty tales we cook up together. Thank you also to the whole team at Delacorte, particularly Lydia Gregovic, Regina Flath, Beverly Horowitz, Barbara Marcus, Elizabeth Ward, Jenn Inzetta, Kelly McGauley, Lili Feinberg, and Kristen Schultz. Thank you for helping me bring this story to life.

A million thanks as well to my authenticity readers, whose feedback helped make this book so much better—your expertise helped me explore a deeper level of meaning in this story, and I appreciate it more than I can say.

Thanks also to Maggie Enterrios, who did the cover art for this book; you already know I’m freaking obsessed with it, but let me reiterate—I’m obsessed.

I wrote this book so quickly, and then of course it was an exercise in revision, layering muscle and flesh onto the bones and creating something whole. For that metaphor (and other feedback) I have to thank Victoria Schwab. Thanks as well to Emily Martin, who was there to hold my hand (figuratively, and occasionally literally) for every page, every triumph, and every stumbling block along the way. And of course, thank you to these friends and family, who were particularly supportive during the creation and revision of this book: Ben Scallon, Zoraida Córdova, Ryan LaSala, Nita Tyndall, Tracy Deonn, Rory Power, Claribel Ortega, Casey McQuiston, Christine Herman, and Ava Reid. Finally, to my parents, who didn’t say a word about the sex scene. My endless gratitude for that.