Second, encephalitis lethargica is a real disease. We don’t know what causes it exactly, but it has very real effects on those who suffer from it. The disease as it appears in this book is just my idea of how, if scientists had the tools and the desire, it could be refined and weaponized. Sleepy sickness (as it is called in the real world) is not contagious, can cause a paralyzed sort of sleep, and, in some cases, can cause episodes of both self-harm and violence against others that seems almost compulsive. If you’re interested in learning more, the first book I read about encephalitis lethargica is called Asleep: The Forgotten Epidemic that Remains One of Medicine’s Greatest Mysteries by Molly Caldwell Crosby. It’s full of case studies and information about real people and real doctors who dealt with this disease both after the Spanish flu epidemic and during other periods of history.
And third, there are some elements of Chinese history, especially the Cultural Revolution under Mao Zedong, that influenced me as I was building Sev’s world. This isn’t meant to be a direct representation of anything in particular that happened in the People’s Republic of China. If you’d like to read about what actually happened during the Cultural Revolution, Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China by Jung Chang and The Private Life of Chairman Mao by Dr. Li Zhisui are both a good start. There is a reference to a Mao quote in the first line of the book, which Sev bungles. Mao originally said, “A revolution is not a dinner party, or writing an essay, or painting a picture, or doing embroidery; it cannot be so refined, so leisurely and gentle, so temperate, kind, courteous, restrained, and magnanimous. A revolution is an insurrection, an act of violence by which one class overthrows another.”
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
There are so many people who had a hand in this book that it feels as if we could probably take over the world Menghu-style, but maybe with books instead of guns. Victoria Wells-Arms, my lovely agent, wouldn’t need a weapon at all, disarming people with her incurable perkiness and killer instincts. My wonderful editor at Simon Pulse, Sarah McCabe, would probably use the cutest picture ever of a pug as a distraction, then go for the jugular with her red pencil. Both of these ladies pushed me to sharpen Sev’s story until it could draw blood.
Thanks are also required for the extended members of the Last Star Burning battalion at Simon Pulse: Mara Anastas, Mary Marotta, Liesa Abrams, Jessica Handelman, Michael Rosamilia, Carolyn Swerdloff, Catherine Hayden, Michelle Leo and her team, Christina Pecorale and the rest of the S&S sales team, Katherine Devendorf, Chelsea Morgan, Rebecca Vitkus, Sara Berko, and Aubrey Churchward.
There are so many people who read various awful stages of Last Star Burning, and I am grateful to all of you for encouraging me rather than trying to kill my book. A special thank you to Shenwei Chang for the insights they provided on language, culture, and many other things.
I’m so grateful for my mom and dad, who made books part of our family culture. I still hear Tolkien in my dad’s voice as I read because he’s the one who read it to me first. They taught me from a very young age that I could accomplish anything I wanted to, so long as I was prepared to work for it, and were suitably not surprised when I told them Last Star Burning was going to get printed on actual paper with a cover and everything. Thanks to both of them for knowing I could do it, telling me I was doing it, and then saying they were proud of me afterward.
My mother-and father-in-law are also very much a part of this list. Sherri Sangster listened to me talk about writing ad naseum, watched my children while I wrote, jumped up and down for me when things moved, and sent me on dates with my husband when they didn’t. She waded through my first drafts, gave me honest feedback, and still was okay with me being married to her son at the end, so that’s something. Thanks to Greg Sangster for always having a new book idea for me should I run out, usually involving mud, knives, and communist Southeast Asian countries.
Thanks to my oldest sister, Sarah Dunster, who, though she is blond and quite stubborn, is a much better person to look up to than Cale. She proved to me that writing isn’t a dream so much as an accomplishment, and you should probably read her books. Also to my other siblings who are fabulously supportive and encouraging, including Juan, Bailian, and Zhongying, who mostly make fun of my Chinese.
Most of all, thanks and all the props and acknowledgment in the world to my children. They gave me some lovely titles that, though they did not make it to the final cover, still make me happy. (My favorite is Fight the Bad Guys. Maybe when I write my father-in-law’s crawling-through-the-jungle book, that’s what it will be called.) To my wonderful, patient, perfect husband, who dealt with all the craziness, obsessiveness, ups and downs and unders, thank you, thank you, thank you. He shares all his time, confidence, honest opinions, and love, and there aren’t words to express how grateful I am for him. I couldn’t have imagined a more perfect partner in life.
And, last of all, though certainly not least, thank you to whoever is holding this book. You are awesome. I wrote this book for you. Please don’t use it as a weapon.