This book would not exist without the support and hard work of these Beautiful people.
Jodi Reamer, my amazing literary agent—for listening to my crazy ideas and encouraging me to see where they lead, and shepherding my books into the world.
Erin Stein, my publisher and editor at Imprint—for pushing me to take chances in my novels instead of letting me play it safe. Your unwavering belief in my characters and my ability to bring their stories to life on the page keeps me going.
Natalie Sousa and Ellen Duda—for designing a book cover that exceeded my expectations and included a heart that doesn’t look cheesy.
Christine Ma, my copy editor—for catching my mistakes and for loving Owen from the first read.
The whole “Beautiful” Team at Imprint: Nicole Otto, Natalie Sousa, Ellen Duda, Jessica Chung, Rhoda Belleza, and John Morgan. And the “Beautiful” team at Macmillan: Jon Yaged, Angus Killick, Allison Verost, Molly Brouillette Ellis, Kelsey Marrujo, Kathryn Little, Ashley Woodfolk, Lucy Del Priore, Mariel Dawson, Julia Gardiner, Gaby Salpeter, Teresa Ferraiolo, Jennifer Gonzalez and her sales team, Melinda Ackell, and Raymond Ernesto Colón.
Writers House, my literary agency—for representing me and Broken Beautiful Hearts. Special thanks to Cecilia de la Campa and Alec Shane.
Kassie Evashevski, my rock star film agent—for your intelligence, creativity, and passion. But most of all, for championing this book and everything I write.
Holly Black, Carrie Ryan, and Danielle Paige, my friends and extraordinary YA authors—for reading this book so many times, giving me notes to make it better, and for all the supportive texts and calls.
Dhonielle Clayton, my friend and an über-talented YA author—for taking the time to sensitivity read this book—and for giving the book such a wonderful quote.
Sarah Weiss-Simpson, my assistant—for organizing my life so I have time to write and for being a great friend.
Chloe Palka, my social media manager—for your expertise and creativity and for typing my messy handwritten chapters. You are the coolest.
Erin Gross and Yvette Vasquez, my BFFs—for always having the answers, cheering me on, and yelling at me when cheering doesn’t work. You are two of my best friends.
Cora Carmack, Dhonielle Clayton, Abbi Glines, Elle Kennedy, Katie McGarry, Danielle Paige, Jennifer Niven, and K.A. Tucker, a group of authors whose novels I admire—for giving Broken Beautiful Hearts such amazing quotes. There aren’t enough cupcakes in the world to show my appreciation.
Sargent Rudolfo “Rudy” Reyes, 1st Reconnaissance Battalion, Team Leader OEF/OIF, United States Marine Corps; cofounder of FORCE Blue; my friend; and a tireless warrior with a new mission—saving and improving the lives of veterans—for sharing your knowledge and experiences with me so I could bring Hawk and Peyton’s dad to life on the page. And for helping me come up with a realistic (and scary) scenario for Peyton’s dad’s death.
Dr. Stephanie Jacobs, MD, cardiologist—for coming up with a heart condition that met my long list of criteria and then explaining it to me.
Vania Stoyanova, my friend and photographer—for making me look cool in my author photos, especially the one in this book.
Lorissa Shepstone of Being Wicked, my graphic designer—for designing my amazing new author website, along with postcards, bookmarks, business cards, and swag.
Benjamin Alderson, Caden Armstrong, Katie Bartow, Yvette Cervera, Bri Daniel, Andye Eppes, Jen Fisher, Vilma Gonzalez, Kristen Goodwin, Erin Gross, Sara Gundell, Ruthie Heard, Mara Jacobi, Taylor Knight, Hikari Loftus, Caden Sage, Evie Seo, Tracey Spiteri, Amber Sweeney, Natasha Tomic, Ursula Uriarte, Lauren Ward, Jenny Zemanek, and Heidi Zweifel—for being my think tank and offering your insight, creativity, and support. It means so much to me.
Eric Harbert and Nick Montano, my secret weapons—for being the guys who watch my back.
Alan Weinberger, my rheumatologist—for making sure I don’t fall apart.
Librarians, teachers, booksellers, bloggers, bookstagrammers, booktubers, and everyone who helped spread the word about Broken Beautiful Hearts—your passion for reading and love of books is an inspiration. Thank you for everything you do and for reading my books.
My readers—for supporting me, sticking with me when I write new books and series, encouraging me on social media when I’m down, encouraging your friends to read my books, sending me letters and fan art, and sharing your stories with me. You bring my books to life.
Mom, Dad, Celeste, John, Derek, Hannah, Alex, Hans, Sara, and Erin, my parents, stepparents, siblings, and sisters-in-law—for your love and encouragement. Thank you for always being there.
Alex, Nick, and Stella—for your love and support. I couldn’t do any of this without you.