by Samira Ahmed
To dear friends and fellow writers who inspired and raised the bar high and believed: Sara Ahmed, Harvey “Smokey” Daniels, Dhonielle Clayton, Aisha Saeed, Heidi Heilig, Sarvenaz Tash, Nicole Pointdexter, Lizzie Cooke, Gloria Chao, Sangu Mandanna, Franny Billingsley, Ronni Davis Selzer, Hebah Uddin, Jonathan Levi, Amy Adams, Tiffany Schmidt, Sona Charaipotra, Adam Silvera, Beth Hahn, Claribel Ortega, Kat Cho, Rena Barron, and Anna Waggener. I am eternally grateful for your eyes and ears and wisdom and love.
Team Rocks, thank you for the laughter and tears and medicake. Waterfall glory forever!
I’ve been fortunate to meet many wonderful, supportive folks online. The KidLit Authors of Color group, you remind me every day why our stories are worth fighting for. Fight Me Club, you are warriors; thank you for having my back. You have my sword, always. My fellow Electric 18s, may our stars burn long and bright. To my tweeps, especially all the indie booksellers (looking at you Rachel Strolle and Katie Stutz), teachers, and librarians, thank you for being guardians of childhood and defenders of our cultural lighthouses.
My family provided enough fodder to fill ten books. To the top six and bottom six, thank you for your endless sharaarat and hangama. May your condiment packets and yogurt containers never run out and may the perfect sheets always line your suitcases. Special shout-out to Raeshma Razvi who tutored me on film terms and listened to my endless bakwas.
In many ways this book is a valentine to my hometown of Batavia, Illinois. To childhood friends, I hope you found something to smile at in these pages. The Lincoln Tree may be gone, but my love is forever. Go Bulldogs!
To my sisters, Asra and Sara, thank you for your encouragement and for putting up with the Baji treatment all these long years. We’re still the winningest sister trio in Batavia High School tennis history (this may not be technically true, but I write fiction so, yes, yes, it is).
To my parents, Hamid and Mazher, you filled our shelves with books and encouraged us to always ask questions. Nearly fifty years ago, you came to this country with your dreams, and you paved the way and built a community brick-by-brick from the ground up and are beacons of light to all those around you.
Lena and Noah, your smiles make me believe in magic. Watching you grow and learn and discover who you are in the world is the greatest honor and privilege of my life. I hope always to endeavor to deserve you. Know that my love for you is boundless.
And to Thomas, my co-creator of this wondrous, improbable life we are writing together. No love, but this proof of love: your belief made this possible.
