The Year We Became Invincible

Acknowledgements

ACKNOWLEDGMENTSOver the past year, the idea for The Year We Became Invincible has continuously snowballed into what it is now printed in these pages. I would like to thank the many, many people who have helped me build this snowball.

I would first like to thank Mina Esguerra. Thank you for answering all my texts when I was freaking out about publishing, for writing a lovely foreword, and for introducing me to an editor. Most importantly, thank you for inspiring me to write the genre that I love. Speaking of my editor, thank you to Layla Tanjutco for helping me give these characters the story, the title, and the ending that they deserve. Thank you to Tania Arpa for using her awesome artistic talents in designing the cover. To all the amazing people in Anvil Publishing: Karina Bolasco, Gwenn Galvez, Ani Habulan, and Ysa Garcia, I cannot thank you enough for taking a chance on me ten years ago and for allowing me to share my stories with others.

I would also like to thank my friends for still being my friends despite the constant obligation of reading my works. Thank you, Samie, for picking up the phone when I was contemplating on what I would do during my leave of absence and asking me, “Why not write?” Thank you, Kim, for educating my clueless self about ballet. Thank you, Christine, for making the first draft of this your bedtime story. Thank you, Monica, for reading this a few hours after I sent it to you and for pushing me to write an even better story. Thank you to Alex, Cam, Lexi, Lea Lynn, Paulsy, and Patsy for functioning as both my best friends and first readers. To my LEAP friends, thank you for helping me make this possible.

To my family, you are my everything, and these few words are not enough to express how grateful I am to be born into a world where I am related to you. To my cousin Hannah, thank you for engaging my love for YA and showing me what else is out there. Thank you, Jam, for listening to me ramble on about this idea and for reading my first draft. Thank you, Joseph, for letting me hog your desktop (with no complaints!). Thank you to my siblings: Sofia, Stenie, and Alex. Growing up with you as my other halves fueled me with more love and support than I could ever need. And to my parents, thank you for being nothing but encouraging for all the years of my existence. There are no characters that I will ever love more than the two of you.