Beach Read(99)

Acknowledgments





Behind every book that makes its way into the world is a whole village of advocates, and this book couldn’t have had a better village fighting for it every step of the way. Huge thanks, first, to my amazing editor, Amanda Bergeron, whose skill, passion, and kindness have made every minute I spent working on this book pure delight. No one could have understood nor refined the heart of January and Gus’s story quite like you, and I’m forever grateful to have had you in their corner. I’m still just starry-eyed over getting to work with you.

Thank you also to the rest of the inimitable team at Berkley: Jessica McDonnell, Claire Zion, Cindy Hwang, Grace House, Martha Cipolla, and the rest. Huge gratitude also to the whole team at Viking, especially the brilliant Katy Loftus, Vikki Moynes, Georgia Taylor, Ellie Hudson, Emma Rogers, and Holly Ovenden, as well as to the teams at Droemer Knaur, Vulkan, Lavender Lit, Harper Italia, Le Cherche Midi, and The House of Books. I feel so ridiculously lucky to have found a home and family among you.

To the first person who read this book in any form, Lana Popovic, thank you so much for always, always believing in me and for inspiring the world’s best fictional agent, Anya.

Thanks also to my perfect dream of an agent, Taylor Haggerty. You have been a guiding light to me through this whole process, and I know on a deep bone-level that Beach Read could not have made it here without you and the rest of the incredible people at Root Literary: Holly Root, Melanie Castillo, and Molly O’Neill. Huge thanks also to my ridiculously savvy foreign rights agent, Heather Baror, and the rest of Baror International, as well as Mary Pender of UTA, who has been an incredible support to me since the beginning of this journey.

I also must thank my dear friend Liz Tingue, one of the first people to take a big chance on me and my writing. Truly, none of this would have been possible without you. I’m forever grateful to both you and Marissa Grossman for being on my team since the beginning.

There are so many other people who have been essential to my growth as both a writer and person, but I especially need to thank Brittany Cavallaro, Parker Peevyhouse, Jeff Zentner, Riley Redgate, Kerry Kletter, Adriana Mather, David Arnold, Janet McNally, Candice Montgomery, Tehlor Kay Mejia, and Anna Breslaw for being such wonderful friends and giving me such a lovely, vibrant writing community. You are all sparkly, fierce, hilarious, and ridiculously talented. Not to mention, like, really pretty.

And of course, I couldn’t write about family, friendship, and love if not for the spectacular family, friends, and partner that have been given to me.

Thank you to the grandparents, parents, brothers, sisters, and whole lot of dogs who have always surrounded me in love. To Megan and Noosha, the women whose friendship has taught me how to write about best friends. And to the love of my life, my perfectly favorite person, Joey. Every moment with you is the vastest, deepest happy-for-now I could have dreamt of. With you in my life, it’s hard not to be a romantic.





He just wanted a decent book to read …


Not too much to ask, is it? It was in 1935 when Allen Lane, Managing Director of Bodley Head Publishers, stood on a platform at Exeter railway station looking for something good to read on his journey back to London. His choice was limited to popular magazines and poor-quality paperbacks – the same choice faced every day by the vast majority of readers, few of whom could afford hardbacks. Lane’s disappointment and subsequent anger at the range of books generally available led him to found a company – and change the world.

‘We believed in the existence in this country of a vast reading public for intelligent books at a low price, and staked everything on it’

Sir Allen Lane, 1902–1970, founder of Penguin Books

The quality paperback had arrived – and not just in bookshops. Lane was adamant that his Penguins should appear in chain stores and tobacconists, and should cost no more than a packet of cigarettes.



Reading habits (and cigarette prices) have changed since 1935, but Penguin still believes in publishing the best books for everybody to enjoy. We still believe that good design costs no more than bad design, and we still believe that quality books published passionately and responsibly make the world a better place.

So wherever you see the little bird – whether it’s on a piece of prize-winning literary fiction or a celebrity autobiography, political tour de force or historical masterpiece, a serial-killer thriller, reference book, world classic or a piece of pure escapism – you can bet that it represents the very best that the genre has to offer.

Whatever you like to read – trust Penguin.