M. Buehrlen: The 57 Lives of Alex Wayfare

Sara McClung, Bria Quinlan, Francesca Amendolia, Jen Fisher (The “Pusher” of Books), and Christina Franke, for reading and helping shape this book. I owe you dinner. Kimberly Pauley, for being there and passing the torch. Shannon Messenger, for late night chats and Shannonigans. Kim Baccellia, for keeping me in coffee gift cards and cheering me on. Hayley Farris, for the gift of much-needed sleep during the final edit stretch. (You know what I’m talking about). Jodi Meadows, for winter writing mitts. Andrea Summer and Tye VonAllmen, for introducing me to goetta. Heather Palmquist-Lindahl, for making me your honorary sister. Matt Murrie, for the advice and support. Jon Beebe, for breakfasts and brainstorming and WoW. Leigh Kolb, for your words. All of them.

Myra McEntire and C.J. Redwine, for your unwavering encouragement and belief in this book (and your belief in me). Thank you for bossing me and making me HIT SEND. I shall continue to pat heads and make my own kite string daily.

Chris Howard, for being my BFF, my BFG, my beffie. You are one of my favorite authors, bud. April G. Tucholke, for keeping my neuroses in check. Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there, wondering, fearing, doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before. We will have France. (And Scotland. And Quebec City. And the entire world, apparently.)

Nancy Nilsson and Stefanie Lassitter, for being the best, most inspiring professors, and for giving me many an A+ all those years ago. My teachers at UHS: you all shaped this story in some form or another. Every single one of you. Who knew a small school in mid-Missouri could have some of the best teachers in the States? Joe Zickafoose, for changing my life. You said you wanted to read my book. I’m sorry I didn’t finish in time.

Claire Johnson, for introducing me to Charade and therefore my love of classic film. Popcorn and green grapes! The bottle and the hill!

Cara Minks Rogers, for all the sleepovers fraught with storytelling and drama. You always kept me captivated. I hope this book captivates you. (As much as The Beast’s Wild Ride.)

Abby Templer, for The Salem Witch Trials, Wayne’s World, and our dress-up “improv nights” at your house (with NSFW video evidence). We were fearless. We put ourselves out there. We went for it. We still are. We still do.

Jill Van Leer, for reading on the playground, in the girl’s bathroom, and on the bus. You were my first reader, and my first true friend. You liked my quirky brain, for reasons unknown, and for that I’ll always love you (and your sandals).

Nicholette Tilghman, for pushing me to finish my very first novel. You helped prove I could do it. Without you, this book wouldn’t exist. This career wouldn’t exist.

Royace Buehrlen, for passing down the storytelling gene, and for believing I could be, and do, anything. Donna Massmann, for sharing all your favorite movies with me, for creating an artist’s heart within me, and for being my Number One Fan. Don Massmann and Marty Buehrlen, for putting up with me. There is nothing so difficult to live with as a budding novelist. You have my sympathies. Scott, Sara, Nancy, and all the loved ones we’ve lost. You’re in our hearts. You keep us going. The rest of my huge, amazing family, who loves so fiercely. Y’all believed in me. I hope I’ve done you proud.

Hiccup, for putting it all in perspective. (You’re crying now, and refusing to nap, so if I’ve forgotten anyone on this list, I’m blaming you, little one. You are the best distraction.)

And Joel, for opening this farm girl’s eyes to the wide world beyond. Thank you for The Lake. For Chicago. We owned the city. We owned the stars. It was all ours. It still is. Let’s go explore.

When she’s not writing about teens who save the world, MG moonlights as a web designer and social media marketing buff, and she’s the current mastermind lurking behind the hugely popular website YABooksCentral.com

, a social network for YA (and kids!) book lovers.

Places you might find MG hiding: in her creaky old house nestled in Michigan pines, sipping coffee on her porch, playing in leaf piles, cooking over campfires, and dipping her toes in creek beds.

www.mgbuehrlen.com

twitter.com/mgbuehrlen

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

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.

The 57 lives of alex wayfare

strange chemistry

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New York, NY 10017

First ebook edition: March 2014

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ISBN 978-1-4555-8313-3