Book Read Free

Idols

Page 25

by Margaret Stohl


  sendline: I don’t know what I want.;

  sendline: I’ll know it when I see it.;

  sendline: I’m not being mercenary.;

  sendline: I’m being logical.;

  sendline:..… hello?;

  transmission terminated;

  //comlog ended;

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  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  It’s difficult to write difficult books, and this was that. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t write them, but it doesn’t mean we should try to go at it alone, either. Many of my own personal Icons and Idols along the way have come to my rescue, time and time again. I am so much more than grateful for my team, in New York and around the world.

  Thanks to my Idols at the Gernert Company: Sarah Burnes, my agent and friend; along with Logan Garrison, Will Robert, and Rebecca Gardner.

  Thanks to my Idols at Little, Brown: Kate Sullivan and Julie Scheina, my genius editors on this project; along with Leslie Shumate and Pam Garfinkel, their genius editorial assistants.

  Thanks as well to the tireless Hallie Patterson and Melanie Chang, for publicity; Dave Caplan, for cover design; Barbara Bakowski and Barbara Perris, for copyediting; Victoria Stapleton and Zoe Luderitz, for the support from school and library services; Megan Tingley and Andrew Smith, for the support from publishing.

  Thanks to my assistants, Victoria Hill and Zelda Wengrod, who are like family; and of course, thanks to my actual family: Lewis, Emma, May, and Kate Peterson, as well as all the Stohls everywhere.

  In particular, thanks to Eunei Lee and Lewis Peterson, my Southeast Asian travel buddies; and to Raphael Simon, Melissa de la Cruz, and Kami Garcia, who had to hear all the stories.

  And finally: Thanks to the readers, librarians, teachers, bloggers, social media friends and followers, journalists, fellow authors, and fans who have supported both Kami and me for the past six years, since Beautiful Creatures.

  I will always idolize all of you, you iconic and beautiful creatures!

  XO, Margie

  Contents

  COVER

  TITLE PAGE

  WELCOME

  DEDICATION

  EPIGRAPH

  PROLOGUE: PICK A GOD AND PRAY

  CHAPTER 1: WRECKED

  CHAPTER 2: OUT OF RANGE

  CHAPTER 3: RHUMBA OF RATTLESNAKES

  CHAPTER 4: LOST HIGHWAY

  CHAPTER 5: DIRT NAP

  CHAPTER 6: ANIMAL FEET

  CHAPTER 7: BELTER MOUNTAIN

  CHAPTER 8: COLD WELCOME

  CHAPTER 9: THE IDYLLS

  CHAPTER 10: PECULIAR PEOPLE

  CHAPTER 11: BELTER BIRDS

  CHAPTER 12: IDYLLS’ END

  CHAPTER 13: FOUR

  CHAPTER 14: DREAM GIRL

  CHAPTER 15: REMNANTS

  CHAPTER 16: IN A HEARTBEAT

  CHAPTER 17: MERK SECRETS

  CHAPTER 18: JUMP

  CHAPTER 19: GOLDEN GAP

  CHAPTER 20: BUDDHA BILL

  CHAPTER 21: OLD NEWS

  CHAPTER 22: HAWKERS

  CHAPTER 23: ASH

  CHAPTER 24: WAT PHRA KAEW

  CHAPTER 25: PING, CHING, AND CHANG

  CHAPTER 26: GONE

  CHAPTER 27: FUTURE PAST

  CHAPTER 28: LORD BUDDHA

  CHAPTER 29: MOON MOUNTAIN

  CHAPTER 30: JADE SUNRISE

  CHAPTER 31: BEYOND BIRDS

  CHAPTER 32: UNIFICATION

  CHAPTER 33: INTRODUCTIONS

  CHAPTER 34: SALUTATIONS

  CHAPTER 35: ENDINGS AND BEGINNINGS

  EPILOGUE

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  COPYRIGHT

  Copyright

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

  Copyright © 2014 by Margaret Stohl, Inc.

  Cover art © 2014 by Sean Freeman

  Cover design by David Caplan

  Cover © 2014 Hachette Book Group, Inc.

  All rights reserved. In accordance with the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, the scanning, uploading, and electronic sharing of any part of this book without the permission of the publisher is unlawful piracy and theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), prior written permission must be obtained by contacting the publisher at permissions@hbgusa.com. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights.

  Little, Brown and Company

  Hachette Book Group

  237 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10017

  lb-teens.com

  Little, Brown and Company is a division of Hachette Book Group, Inc.

  The Little, Brown name and logo are trademarks of Hachette Book Group, Inc.

  The publisher is not responsible for websites (or their content) that are not owned by the publisher.

  First ebook edition: July 2014

  ISBN 978-0-316-27978-9

  E3

 

 

 


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