The Glass Sentence

Acknowledgments

I AM GRATEFUL to the late Sheila Meyer for her early support, many years ago, as I made fumbled attempts to write for young readers. Her encouragement stayed with me as I followed other pursuits; I will always remember her kindness as I took those first uncertain steps.

I wish to thank Dorian Karchmar not only for finding such a wonderful home for this book but also for taking on a very different kind of project than expected and for working with me through so many versions. My thanks to Matt Hudson as well for offering detailed comments on more than one of those versions.

The wonderful home at Viking would not exist without Sharyn November, who has been tireless in her passionate, thoughtful, and really quite humbling support for this book. I have been buoyed since the pages first reached her by her unflagging enthusiasm. I appreciate the meticulous reading from Janet Pascal, the inspired contributions of Jim Hoover and Eileen Savage, and the wonderfully Shadrackian cartographical creations of Dave A. Stevenson.

I am grateful to the many friends who read versions of this book as it was taking shape. Among them, Benny, Naomi, and Adam gave much-needed advice on an early version of Part I. Lisa and Richie also kindly read and responded to an early draft. I especially wish to thank Sean, Moneeka, Paul, Alejandra, and Heather for offering enthusiasm, detailed comments, fact-checking, and excellent ideas that have made the world of the Great Disruption more coherent and fun. I am grateful to Pablo for the frequent input—as helpful as it is humorous. Thanks to my mother, for her unshakable faith in Sophia, and to my father, for delving so earnestly (and repeatedly) into the workings of this world. One of the great pleasures of inventing it has been discussing it with all of you. Thanks to my brother for his unquestioning belief in this project at every stage. Finally, I wish to thank A.F. for taking every part of this story—metaphysics, mechanics, characters, author—to heart.