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Acknowledgments
Many people taught me how to see clearly as this book evolved.
Deepest gratitude goes to Alvina Ling and Bethany Strout, an editorial dream team if there ever was one.
Donna Francavilla generously shared her eyewitness account of the mudslides on the Inca Trail. And Ruben, raconteur and tour guide of Machu Picchu, regaled my kids and me with (harrowing) stories about the trail. I hope they and other trekkers understand that I needed to make a few geographic changes to that beloved trail for the sake of this story.
Meg Lippert is the best trekking partner a woman could have, leprechaun-green coat notwithstanding.
Annie Griffiths, photographer for National Geographic; Chris Linder; and Leslie Magid Higgins provided veritas and passion for their art form. And Eric Swangstu shared insights into the college portfolio review process and art that knocks your heart open.
Alfie Treleven of Sprague Pest Control, Tom Pleas, Susan Polzak, and May—quite possibly the most adorable bedbug-sniffing dog on the planet—thank you for teaching me about bedbugs, rats, and the pest control industry.
Dr. Bob Glaze, Dr. Kathy Vuu, and Dr. Mike Tam helped me understand some of the illnesses that lead to blindness—and, more important, the human emotions that accompany that process. All medical inaccuracies are mine and mine alone.
Karen Bonnell continues to teach me about insight and true sight.
And always, always, always, heartfelt thanks go to my children, Tyler and Sofia, who are especially patient when I live what I learn, even when I now insist on inspecting hotel rooms for bedbugs.
Contents
Cover
Title Page
Welcome
Dedication
Epigraph
Part One Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Part Two Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Part Three Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
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 Justina Chen
Cover photo © Carlos Hernandez / Getty Images
Cover design by Sarah Hoy
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
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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: August 2014
ISBN 978-0-316-36438-6
E3