Behind the scenes are all of the beautiful people at Penguin Young Readers, all of the Penguin field reps, Penguin subsidiary rights, Writers House, Marks Law Group, UTA, Luum, Penguin Audio, and SCBWI. I’m so grateful to all of my wonderful foreign publishers, sub-agents, and translators for sharing my words in over sixty countries.
Sharon Cameron, Amy Eytchison, Angelika Stegmann, Howard Shirley, Court Stevens, Beth Kephart, Claus Pedersen, Niels Bye Nielsen, Marius Markevicius, Yvonne Seivertson, Mike Cortese, Jason Richman, Steve Vai, Ruta Allen, JW Scott, Sean Marks, Genetta Adair, Meg Fleming, Keith Ryan Cartwright, Mary Tucker, Noah and Andrew Faber, the Baysons, the Rockets, the Peales, the Smiths, the Brodds, the Myers, and the Schefskys have all supported me on the journey of this novel.
Deepest gratitude to my biggest supporters: the teachers, librarians, and booksellers. And most of all—the readers. I appreciate each and every one of you.
My parents taught me to dream big and love even bigger. John and Kristina are my heroes and the best friends a little sis could ask for.
And Michael, whose love gives me the courage and the wings. He is my everything.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Ruta Sepetys （rutasepetys.com） is an internationally acclaimed, #1 New York Times bestselling author of historical fiction published in over sixty countries and forty languages. Sepetys is considered a "crossover" novelist, as her books are read by both teens and adults worldwide. Her novels Between Shades of Gray, Out of the Easy, Salt to the Sea, and The Fountains of Silence have won or been shortlisted for more than forty book prizes, and are included on more than sixty state award lists. Between Shades of Gray was adapted into the film Ashes in the Snow, and her other novels are currently in development for TV and film. Winner of the Carnegie Medal, Ruta is passionate about the power of history and literature to foster global awareness and connectivity. She has presented to NATO, to the European Parliament, in the United States Capitol, and at embassies worldwide. Ruta was born and raised in Michigan and now lives with her family in Nashville, Tennessee. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram @RutaSepetys, and on Facebook at facebook.com/rutasepetys.