Counting Down with You(118)

I’d like to start by thanking you, the reader. Thank you for coming with me on Karina’s journey. We are both infinitely grateful for your time and support.

Going forward, I’d like to thank my agent, JL Stermer, for believing in this book and believing in me. Thank you for seeing Karina, and understanding why I wanted to tell this story. The world worked miracles to bring us together, and I’m grateful for it every day. You get my New Yorker heart more than anybody else! Here’s to more books (and pretzels!) in the future. And thank you to the rest of the team at New Leaf Literary—especially Suzie Townsend, who introduced me to JL.

Thank you to my former editor, Natashya Wilson, for taking a chance on Ace and Karina. Being with you on this journey has taught me so much, and I’m a better writer for it. You saw the heart of this book, and helped make it shine even brighter. Thank you to my current editor, Rebecca Kuss, for being so supportive of this book and loving it like it was your own acquisition. Your enthusiasm is appreciated beyond words, and I’m glad to have you along for the ride. Thank you to the rest of the Inkyard team, including Bess Braswell, Brittany Mitchell, Laura Gianino, and Linette Kim for cheering this book on and helping to bring it into the world with a bang! Thank you to Gigi Lau for designing the cover, and Samya Arif for the cover art. I’m absolutely in love with it!

And now, to get a little weepy, thank you to my family for all your love and support through the years—most importantly, to my own wonderful Dadu. And thank you to my favorite Bangladeshi teenagers: Zareen Khan, Fabia Mahmud, and Shannon Ali. I write for you, and I write for us.

Thank you to ones who are far away, but close to my heart. To Fari Cannon, for sharing the same ten brain cells with me, and being my found family. To Kris Urbanova, for claiming my children as your own, and indulging “Tashie After Dark” too many nights in a row. To Genesis Mendoza, for teaching me to be a better person, and looking out for me like a mother. To Holly Hughes, for being the other half of the dream team, and opening every single can of worms with me. To Z. Ahmadi, for having my back since spring break in Tokyo, and always picking up my phone calls. To Chloe Gong, for letting me scream about [redacted], and always experiencing the exact same brain waves as me. To Hannah Vitton, for allowing me to pull you into the book world, and crying over Instagram edits with me. To Alyssa Cavallaro, for reading the first words of this book in Penn Station, and always sending hugs when I’m in peril. And to Nina Petropoulos, for being the Stumbleina to my Twinkle Toes, and sticking with me through thick and thin.

Thank you to the ones that are even farther than far. To Lorena Valenzuela, for being the sweetie to my honey, and shedding tears over my characters. To Sofia Tulachan, for reading every single word I write, and inspiring me to be more hardworking. To LinLi Wan, for having the biggest galaxy brain, and trying to send me ice cream from another continent. And to Kaity Findley, for loving Stiles as much as I do, and getting up way too early just to spend time with me.

Thank you to the ones who are close by, and close to my heart. To Pietra Ibrisimovic, for believing in me from the moment we met, and being my book bum soulmate. To Akvinder Kaur, for being the other side of the same coin, and being my #2 for life. To Rachel Koltsov, for letting me talk your ear off for hours, and always dropping everything you’re doing to join me on an adventure. To Juliana Ogarrio, for loving Rockefeller Center as much as I do, and offering me a place to stay the first night we met. To Kadeen Griffiths, for showering me with constant affection, and always fine dining with me. To MSRB—to Zuzu Bicane, Sophia Monsalve, Sydney Martinez, Kayla Ryan, and Stella Gomes, for being my favorite bookish babes. To Raisa Bhuiyan, Helen Urena, Sadia Alam, and Unwana Abasiurua, for reading my words in their early stages, and loving them anyway. And to Emily Tom, Bailey Disler, and Dhervi Kapoor, for supporting me wholeheartedly without having read a single line.

Thank you to the angels that make publishing so much easier. To Leah Jordain, critique partner (and friend) of the century—this book would not be what it is without your guidance, and I am so grateful for you. Thank you for offering to cut words a lifetime ago, and never leaving my side since then. To Christine Calella, for being the best mentor in the world, and the first person to believe in me. To the Gen Z author squad, Christina Li, Zoe Hana Mikuta, and Racquel Marie (and Chloe again), for always indulging in my chaos. To Crystal Seitz, Nora Sakavic, J. Elle, Vanessa Len, Shelley Parker-Chan, Mae Coyiuto, Nora Elghazzawi, Anne Zoelle, Naureen Nashid, Adiba Jaigirdar, and Nina Varela for being a part of my publishing journey, whether through reading this book or supporting me. To Avi Lewis, Emily Miner, Page Powars, and Kalie Holford, for being the most wonderful beta readers. And to AMM R6 Write Club—Brighton Rose, Meryn Lobb, Shana Targosz, Cristin Williams, Carrie Gao, Janice Davis, Natalie VanderHeydt, Zoulfa Katouh, Nicole Chartrand, Kiara Medina, Christie Megill, Gwen Flaskamp, Kimmy Wisnewski, Finn Longman, Lindsey Hewett, Savannah Wright, Laila Sabreen, Tamar Aleksandr, and Russell Armstrong, for being the best greasy foxes around.

And thank you to all the people on social media that support my random snippets, my ten million aesthetics, and my general chaos, including Lilian Hillary, Humnah Memon, Joelle Wellington, Aishwarya Tandon, and Amy Holford.

Of course, a huge thank you to the authors who read an early copy of this and blurbed it: Mark Oshiro, Emma Lord, Sabina Khan, Rachel Lynn Solomon, and Jenn Bennett. I’m honored to have your names on my book jacket!

Thank you to my day one supporters. To Marisa Lysachok, Andie Gomes, Anam Sattar, Valerie L., Michelle Bader, Lavender Ruffman, and Claire Malchow, for your unending support of Karina and Ace. And to Madison Taylor Bast, Katie Foster, Ira Petrova, Grace P., Rachel Leach, Vanessa Fuentes, Lina El Gharbi, Ellen Leung, Lois Salvacion, Taina Malavazzi, and Rachael Rodriguez, for following me on this journey since the beginning.