Us.
Because I am a part of the big finale too.
It’s a small part—barely a part at all. Most of the audience probably wouldn’t even notice there was an extra cast member in the air.
But to me it’s everything.
Tatya squeezes beside me, flashing her teeth happily while we listen to the ringmaster thank the audience, and the band, and then…
The performers rush toward the stage.
It’s too dark for the audience to see what’s going on, save for the burst of shadows and the strategically placed spotlights zigzagging across the floor like wild fairies.
I find my spot near the violins, lift my hands, and close my fingers over the metal bar. I know Tatya is on the opposite side of the orchestra, doing the same.
The percussion takes over, drowning out the sound of the wires raising the trapeze.
And then the fanfare.
The lights turn on, a scattering of colors bursting across the room like a luminous, Technicolor rainbow. Confetti pours from the sky, glittery and marvelous. Clowns charge through the audience, waving in gratitude. Contortionists are balanced on top of each other like a house of cards. Jugglers are tossing colorful pins into the air while they balance on unicycles. Three aerialists are in multicolored silk ropes, high above the audience. And there’s me and Tatya, sitting on two static trapezes like mirror images of one another, doing barrel rolls and side planches and front balances and splits in the ropes.
The circus swirls around me, full of life and wonder and magic.
And below, the audience cheers.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I feel like the luckiest person on the planet to be sitting here writing the acknowledgments for my third book. I don’t know how this is real life, but I’m so immensely grateful to every single person who helped make this possible.
An enormous thank-you to my agent, Penny Moore, who has been such a champion for my books and my career. You are a superhero in so many ways, and it’s an honor to be on this journey with you.
To my editor, Jennifer Ung, who has the most incredible ability to sense the story I want to tell, even when I’m failing through early drafts. Your support and passion for the stories you help bring into the world is incredible, and I’m so overwhelmingly grateful we get to continue working on these books together.
A huge thank-you to the team at Simon Pulse who helped make Harley in the Sky a real book: Mara Anastas, Liesa Abrams, Chriscynethia Floyd, Christina Pecorale, Emily Hutton, Lauren Hoffman, Caitlin Sweeny, Nicole Russo, Lauren Carr, Michelle Leo, Chelsea Morgan, Rebecca Vitkus, Stacey Sakal, and Sara Berko. And a special thank-you to designer Heather Palisi and artist Sarah J. Coleman, who created such a breathtaking cover.
Another big thank-you to everyone at Aevitas Creative Management, and Andrea Barzvi and Sandy Hodgman at Empire Literary.
And to every wonderful person at Ink Road, for publishing my last three books in the country I now call home—thank you. I am forever grateful that readers in the UK have had a chance to meet Kiko, Rumi, and now Harley, too.
To the amazing book community who has shown so much support, and in particular to the people who have, for reasons I’ll never understand, been so kind to me: Eric Smith, Rachel Strolle, Brandy Colbert, Samantha Shannon, Sara Barnard, Samira Ahmed, S. K. Ali, Rebecca Mix, and Alice Oseman.
To every reader who picks up a book of mine—thank you. Whether it was your kind of book or not, I appreciate it more than you could ever know. And a special shout-out to some of the readers who’ve helped make the last few years so special: Tasha, Taylor, Cody, Samantha, Jemma, Charlotte, Emma, JM, and Avery.
Thank you to my agency siblings, who are seriously some of the best people in the universe. And an extra special thank-you to Nicki Pau Preto, for not only being my publishing twin and friend but for also being one of the main reasons I haven’t permanently curled up into a ball these last few years. When people talk about finding a good writer friend, they mean people like Nicki. You are amazing, and it’s an honor to call you my friend.
A very special thank-you to my critique partner, Adalyn Taylor Grace, for reading all of the worst early drafts and still finding something good in them.
And a massive thank-you to every single member of the Harley in the Sky Street Team. You have made these past months an absolute delight, and I have enjoyed getting to know all of you. You work so hard at everything you do, and I am forever grateful to each of you for giving your time and energy to help this book. I couldn’t have asked for a better street team to help send Harley out into the world!
To my family and friends who’ve been so supportive—thank you times infinity.
In particular, thank you to my dad, for being the person who will read first drafts, last drafts, and sometimes even the versions in between. And to Grandma and Grandpa, for sharing your history with me, and to Popo, the real Chin Choy “Jane” Soong, for letting me borrow your name. Somebody once told me that we’re remembered until we’re forgotten. I hope this book lets a small piece of your story live on.
And to my kids, Shaine and Oliver, and my husband, Ross: thank you for being my family. I love you all more than I can ever truly explain with words, but if I tried, I’d say it’s definitely more than you can fit in the Millennium Falcon.
More from the Author
Summer Bird Blue
Starfish
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
AKEMI DAWN BOWMAN is the award-winning author of Starfish, Summer Bird Blue, and Harley in the Sky. She’s a proud Ravenclaw and Star Wars enthusiast who served in the US Navy for five years and has a BA in social sciences from the University of Nevada, Las vegas. She currently lives in Scotland with her husband, two children, and their Pekingese mix.
Visit us at simonandschuster.com/teen
www.SimonandSchuster.com/Authors/Akemi-Dawn-Bowman
Simon Pulse
Simon & Schuster, New York
ALSO BY AKEMI DAWN BOWMAN
Starfish
Summer Bird Blue
This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
SIMON PULSE
An imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division
1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York 10020
www.SimonandSchuster.com
First Simon Pulse hardcover edition March 2020
Text copyright © 2020 by Akemi Dawn Bowman
Jacket illustrations copyright © 2020 by Sarah J. Coleman
All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.
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Jacket designed by Heather Palisi
Interior designed by Mike Rosamilia and Tom Daly
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Bowman, Akemi Dawn, author.
Title: Harley in the sky / Akemi Dawn Bowman.
Description: First Simon Pulse hardcover edition. | New York : Simon Pulse, 2020. |
Summary: Eighteen-year-old Harley dreams of quitting school to join
her parents’ Las Vegas circus and when they refuse, she joins a rival circus
where she must learn hard truths and face consequences.
Identifiers: LCCN 2018052707 | ISBN 9781534437128 (hardcover)
Subjects: | CYAC: Circus—Fictio
n. | Aerialists—Fiction. |
Family life—Nevada—Las Vegas—Fiction. | Dating (Social customs)—Fiction. |
Racially mixed people—Fiction. | Las Vegas (Nev.)—Fiction.
Classification: LCC PZ7.1.B6873 Har 2020 | DDC [Fic]—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018052707
ISBN 9781534437142 (eBook)
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