sendline: I don’t know what I want.;
sendline: I’ll know it when I see it.;
sendline: I’m not being mercenary.;
sendline: I’m being logical.;
sendline:..… hello?;
transmission terminated;
//comlog ended;
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
It’s difficult to write difficult books, and this was that. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t write them, but it doesn’t mean we should try to go at it alone, either. Many of my own personal Icons and Idols along the way have come to my rescue, time and time again. I am so much more than grateful for my team, in New York and around the world.
Thanks to my Idols at the Gernert Company: Sarah Burnes, my agent and friend; along with Logan Garrison, Will Robert, and Rebecca Gardner.
Thanks to my Idols at Little, Brown: Kate Sullivan and Julie Scheina, my genius editors on this project; along with Leslie Shumate and Pam Garfinkel, their genius editorial assistants.
Thanks as well to the tireless Hallie Patterson and Melanie Chang, for publicity; Dave Caplan, for cover design; Barbara Bakowski and Barbara Perris, for copyediting; Victoria Stapleton and Zoe Luderitz, for the support from school and library services; Megan Tingley and Andrew Smith, for the support from publishing.
Thanks to my assistants, Victoria Hill and Zelda Wengrod, who are like family; and of course, thanks to my actual family: Lewis, Emma, May, and Kate Peterson, as well as all the Stohls everywhere.
In particular, thanks to Eunei Lee and Lewis Peterson, my Southeast Asian travel buddies; and to Raphael Simon, Melissa de la Cruz, and Kami Garcia, who had to hear all the stories.
And finally: Thanks to the readers, librarians, teachers, bloggers, social media friends and followers, journalists, fellow authors, and fans who have supported both Kami and me for the past six years, since Beautiful Creatures.
I will always idolize all of you, you iconic and beautiful creatures!
XO, Margie
Contents
COVER
TITLE PAGE
WELCOME
DEDICATION
EPIGRAPH
PROLOGUE: PICK A GOD AND PRAY
CHAPTER 1: WRECKED
CHAPTER 2: OUT OF RANGE
CHAPTER 3: RHUMBA OF RATTLESNAKES
CHAPTER 4: LOST HIGHWAY
CHAPTER 5: DIRT NAP
CHAPTER 6: ANIMAL FEET
CHAPTER 7: BELTER MOUNTAIN
CHAPTER 8: COLD WELCOME
CHAPTER 9: THE IDYLLS
CHAPTER 10: PECULIAR PEOPLE
CHAPTER 11: BELTER BIRDS
CHAPTER 12: IDYLLS’ END
CHAPTER 13: FOUR
CHAPTER 14: DREAM GIRL
CHAPTER 15: REMNANTS
CHAPTER 17: MERK SECRETS
CHAPTER 18: JUMP
CHAPTER 19: GOLDEN GAP
CHAPTER 20: BUDDHA BILL
CHAPTER 21: OLD NEWS
CHAPTER 22: HAWKERS
CHAPTER 23: ASH
CHAPTER 24: WAT PHRA KAEW
CHAPTER 25: PING, CHING, AND CHANG
CHAPTER 26: GONE
CHAPTER 27: FUTURE PAST
CHAPTER 28: LORD BUDDHA
CHAPTER 29: MOON MOUNTAIN
CHAPTER 30: JADE SUNRISE
CHAPTER 31: BEYOND BIRDS
CHAPTER 32: UNIFICATION
CHAPTER 33: INTRODUCTIONS
CHAPTER 34: SALUTATIONS
CHAPTER 35: ENDINGS AND BEGINNINGS
EPILOGUE
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 Margaret Stohl, Inc.
Cover art © 2014 by Sean Freeman
Cover design by David Caplan
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
lb-teens.com
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: July 2014
ISBN 978-0-316-27978-9
E3