First publishing-specific thanks goes to my indomitable agent, Whitney Ross. You have been not only an incredible advocate, but a wonderful friend as well. Thank you for seeing what this story could be and pushing me to get there.
To my editor, Brit Hvide— I’m still so amazed I get to work with you. Your guidance and enthusiasm (and patience with my brainstorming phone calls where I say “um” and curse a lot) have made this whole process so incredible.
And because I have been blessed with an embarrassment of riches where editors are concerned, a huge thanks also to Angeline Rodriguez! Working with you was an absolute blast, and I am so thrilled to call you a friend and colleague.
I’ve been truly, ridiculously lucky where writing friends (who become just best friends) are concerned. Erin Craig, you are my person. Thank you for reading, quite literally, every single draft of this book and never letting me give up on it. Bibi Cooper, I love you so much, and you are a source of constant joy. There is no one I would rather send nonsensical DMs to.
To my Pod— Anna Bright, Laura Weymouth, Jen Fulmer, Steph Messa, and Joanna Ruth Meyer. I don’t have words to say what you all mean to me. I wouldn’t be here without you.
To Monica Hoffman and Stephanie Eding, the mentors who plucked this manuscript out of contest slush piles when it was, frankly, a hot mess— thank you for teaching me how to revise and for seeing to the heart of this story long before it was really apparent.
Emily Duncan, Tori Bovalino, Emma Theriault, Claribel Ortega, Kelsey Rodkey, Saint Gibson, Kit Mayquist, Gina Chen, Em Liu, Sierra Elmore, Emma Warner, Meryn Lobb, Kelly Andrew, Suzie Sainwood, Paige Cober, Sadie Blach, Tracy Deonn, Rachel Somer, Jordan Gray, Morgan Ashbaugh, Diana Hurlburt— your support and friendship has meant the world and made the world bearable. To Layne Fargo, Roseanne Brown, Alexis Henderson, Shelby Mahurin, and Isabel Cañas, my PitchWars crew— I love you all, and I’m damn proud of us. And to the Guillotines, MK and Harry and Chris— you guys are absolutely brilliant, and I am so honored to be friends with you.
To Sarah Gray, Liz O’Connell, Ashley Wright, Chelsea Fitzgerald, Stephanie Sorenson, Leah Looper, Nicole Prieto, Jensie Trail—I have loved you all for so many years now, and I am so thankful to have your support and friendship and memes.
And of course a huge thanks to the entire Orbit team, who has been an utter joy to work with at every turn. You guys are amazing.
Lastly, thank you to all the readers who have been excited about this book from the beginning. Thanks for letting me tell stories.
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about the author
Hannah Whitten has been writing to amuse herself since she could hold a pen, and she figured out sometime in high school that what amused her might also amuse others. When she’s not writing, she’s reading, making music, or attempting to bake. She lives in Tennessee with her husband and children in a house ruled by a temperamental cat.
Find out more about Hannah Whitten and other Orbit authors by registering for the free monthly newsletter at orbitbooks.net.
if you enjoyed
FOR THE WOLF
look out for
THE LIGHT OF THE MIDNIGHT STARS
by
Rena Rossner
This is how a fairy-tale begins . . .
Deep in the Hungarian woods, the sacred magic of King Solomon lives on in his descendants. Gathering under the midnight stars, they perform small miracles and none are more gifted than the great Rabbi Isaac and his three daughters.
Hannah, bookish and calm, can coax plants to grow even when the weather is bitterly cold. Sarah, defiant and strong, can control the impulsive nature of fire. And Levana, the fey one, can read the path of the stars to decipher their secrets.
But darkness is creeping across Europe, threatening the life of every Jewish person in every village. Each sister will have to make an impossible choice in an effort to survive – and change the fate of their family for ever.
T here was a time when everyone knew about Trnava. Once, it was a bustling market town that sat at the crossroads between the kingdom of Poland and the rest of Bohemia. Once, the king of Hungary, Charles the First, visited the town and conducted important negotiations there. But there are stories you don’t know. Stories the residents of the town like to keep secret.
If you listen closely, sometimes you can still hear the old stories whispered. Legends about Trnava and the people who lived there, about the great forests that once surrounded the town. There are tales of red-haired mountain men and women who could work miracles, of a people who could trace their lineage all the way back to the great King Solomon himself. Tales of a people who kept to themselves, who lived in a tiny quarter of the city of Trnava where they built their own house of worship. They say that on the ceiling of their synagogue there were a thousand tiny stars.
There are stories told that the congregants who worshiped in the synagogue could work miracles; that the oldest among them could fly cloud dragons in the sky. It is said that when the Black Mist spread over the kingdom of Hungary, these people were the only ones who fought and didn’t flee.
But the real story is much more complicated than that. It is the story of a people who forever lived at the edge of others’ kindness and yet still found a way to thrive. It is the story of a family that survived, and of three girls who, when faced with unimaginable tragedy and impossible odds, did what they had to do even though it wasn’t what was expected of them.
Some say they were just an ordinary
