by Katrina Leno
She had said so many terrible things to Magpie.
I hate you. I’ve always hated you. From the minute I met you.
But that hadn’t really been true at all.
Because she hadn’t always hated Magpie.
And she didn’t even really hate her now.
Maybe a tiny bit.
But mostly she just felt sad.
With her eyes still closed, with her nose filled with the smell of chlorine, she felt, for the first time in a long time, the gentle breeze of happiness. Caressing her skin. Slipping into her blood. Warming her body.
How many hours had she spent lying on an oversize swan pool float, Magpie next to her on a float shaped like a piece of pizza, gently bumping into each other, letting their skin burn in the hot summer sun?
It was all she wanted now. To be back on that swan. To be back on the water.
To just float.
She opened her eyes.
And it took them a moment to adjust to the bright, bright sun of Near.
But then she saw it. On the grass next to her.
An oversize swan pool float.
As if she had dreamed it into existence.
She turned back around to the doorway she had stepped through.
She pulled it closed.
Oh, Magpie. Don’t you know to always lock the door behind you?
And she stepped gently onto the float.
And pushed herself out to sea.
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
If I could dream up the perfect place like Near, it would include all the wonderful people who helped bring this book to life (and I promise none of them would get eaten by impossible monsters). To everyone at Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, and especially to Megan Tingley, Jackie Engel, Alvina Ling, Erika Breglia, Lindsay Walter-Greaney, David Hough, and Hannah Milton—I couldn’t be more grateful for your commitment to this book. And a huge and special thank you to Parrish Turner for lending your keen eye to a sensitivity read.
I love the cover of this book, and that’s all in thanks to Marcie Lawrence and Howard Huang, as well as the lovely Jessica, who embodies Magpie so well. (That scream!) And speaking of Magpie, I am so grateful for all the behind-the-scenes support she received—from Elena Yip, Stefanie Hoffman, Natali Cavanagh, Valerie Wong, Siena Koncsol, and Victoria Stapleton.
And, of course, to a person who deserves her own magical door-creating fountain pen, my editor Pam Gruber, who made this book so much better: I’m so happy Magpie brought you into my life.
Always, always, always, thank you to my agent, Wendy Schmalz, a tireless, lovely force of a woman.
I first had the idea for this book in May of 2016, while lying on a pizza pool float in Palm Springs, California. I had my straw hat over my face and suddenly I knew her, Magpie, as clearly as if we’d grown up together. The very first person I introduced her to was my great friend and great writer Aaron Karo, and I’m so excited that almost exactly three years later, I get to introduce Magpie to all of you. (Careful, she bites.)
I have so many supportive, wonderful people in my circle—my family, my friends, my dear readers who have been with me from the beginning. (You know who you are!) Thank you especially to Shane, a continuous, never-ending beacon of support who is proud of me even when I am not proud of myself. And vice versa, of course.
Writing these acknowledgments is a distinct pleasure because it means I have been allowed to publish one more book. And although writing can sometimes feel like a hugely private, reclusive affair, these acknowledgments prove that it isn’t. I am surrounded by great people. I wish I could buy you all a box of macaroni and cheese, a pizza pool float, and an ocean of chlorinated water to go with it.
© Jaimee Dormer
KATRINA LENO was born on the East Coast and currently lives in Los Angeles. She is the author of The Half Life of Molly Pierce, The Lost & Found, Everything All at Once, Summer of Salt, and You Must Not Miss. She has a habit of peeking into garden sheds to check for impossible worlds. You can visit her online at katrinaleno.com.
