The Vision (19 page)

acknowledgments

Thanks are due first and foremost to my editor, Caroline Abbey, for the insightful suggestions that shaped this story and improved the telling of it (look, not a single past perfect in that sentence!). You are truly talented and super nice to boot! I am so appreciative of the entire Bloomsbury Children's team for their support and the terrific work they do in all aspects of turning manuscripts into books.

Thank you to my agents, Jenyone Adams and Jerry Kalajian, for your patience, guidance, and tenacity.

I'm grateful to the earliest readers of
The Vision
, Elisabeth West and Kristy Lynch, for letting me know when I was on the right track. And not.

Many thanks to my family: my parents and sisters—Ann, Anthony, Caitlin, and Noreen Rearden—who are always enthusiastic, willing to read, and eager to hand out bookmarks. (Okay, only Dad did that, but he gave out enough for everyone!) My aunts, uncles, and cousins—Rearden and Bakanowski—who came out in a blizzard to celebrate
The Mark
's release or read from afar. My Grampy, Alfred E. Bakanowski, for his persistence with the
Eagle,
and my late Grandmom, Ethel Rearden, for her persistence with Grampy, getting him to read the book in the first place.

Paul Bradley and Josh Alpert were invaluable resources for all things mortuary. And Mark Hall and Steve Lucado gave me the lay of the land in Chicago. Thank you all for your time and expertise.

Without Katarina Dicova, I'd still be writing page three of this book—thank you for all the hours of quiet.

On a larger scale, I want to thank everyone who read
The Mark
and told a friend, blogged about it, dropped me a note, or just enjoyed it and looked forward to this book. I've been surprised and amazed at the generosity of people—book bloggers, friends and acquaintances, old and new—who took the time to say congrats or encourage someone else to read. Thank you.

I owe my sanity in large part to the Tenners, who have been incredibly helpful during debut year and beyond. You are an amazing, funny, awesome, talented, determined group of people that I feel so very fortunate to know and be a part of. Thank you for always being willing to share and encourage.

And, of course, boundless gratitude to my husband, Joe, whose support makes writing and so many other things possible. And to my boys—Joey, Sam, and Jake—who inspire me every day.

ALSO BY JEN NADOL

The Mark

Copyright © 2011 by Jen Nadol

All rights reserved You may not copy, distribute, transmit, reproduce or otherwise make available this publication (or any part of it) in any form, or by any means (including without limitation electronic, digital, optical, mechanical, photocopying, printing, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the publisher. Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages

First published in the United States of America in September 2011 by Bloomsbury Books for Young Readers
Electronic edition published in September 2011
www.bloomsburyteens.com

For information about permission to reproduce selections from this book, write to Permissions, Bloomsbury BFYR, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, New York 10010

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Nadol, Jen.

The vision / by Jen Nadol. — 1st U.S. ed.

p. cm.

Sequel to: The mark.

Summary: Seventeen-year-old Cassie, now working in a funeral home on the outskirts of Chicago, continues to try to learn about death and her ability to identify people who will soon die, but her efforts to get help from others like herself only prove that she is on her own.

ISBN 9-781-59990-683-6 (ebook)

[1.  Psychic ability—Fiction.   2.  Death—Fiction.   3.  Fate and fatalism—Fiction.   4.  Undertakers and undertaking—Fiction.   5.  Orphans—Fiction.   6.  Illinois—Fiction.]   I.  Title.

PZ7.N13353Vis 2011              [Fic]—dc22              2011004927