“I’ve missed you so much, daughter,” he says, his eyes squeezed shut.
Efiya stands with her arms limp at her sides until he lets her go. Then she turns around to face me. “Well,” she puts her hands on her hips, “it’s about time.”
Acknowledgments
In Reaper of Souls, our heroine is surrounded by a cast of players that drive the plot to its inevitable crescendo. By that same token, I couldn’t have written Arrah’s story without the support, love, and encouragement from my very own cast of players. Always thankful to my mother, who bought my first electric typewriter and read my first manuscript. Those early days of encouragement helped me through the doubt and rejection that every writer faces. To my brothers, I will always be grateful for your support and thankful for our many chats.
To Cyril, so thankful for your patience and our mutual love of K-dramas. You’re there for the good writing days and the bad ones. Your dedication to your passion inspires me to never give up.
To my literary agent, Suzie Townsend, you are a tireless advocate and cheerleader, and I am thankful to have you on my team. Thanks to Joanna Volpe, New Leaf Literary Agency’s fearless leader and mastermind. Pouya Shahbazian, the best film agent in the known world and my go-to person for movie news. Veronica Grijalva and Victoria Henderson for shopping Reaper in the international markets. Meredith Barnes, for your wealth of advice and witty sense of humor. To Dani, you’re a rock star. To Hilary, Joe, Madhuri, Cassandra, and Kelsey, thank you for your support.
To my amazing editors, Stephanie Stein at HarperTeen and Vicky Leech at HarperVoyager UK. I am thankful for your thoughtfulness, sharp eyes, and our brainstorming sessions. Always appreciate that you support my incessant need to never make things easy for my characters.
To the team behind Stephanie at HarperTeen—Louisa Currigan, Jon Howard, Martha Schwartz, and Monique Vescia—I couldn’t do it without your expertise. Many thanks. To Sam Benson for publicity, Valerie Wong for marketing, and Allison Brown for production, thank you for supporting Reaper. I’m so grateful for the school and library team: Patty Rosati, Mimi Rankin, and Katie Dutton. Another round of applause for Jenna Stempel-Lobell for design.
Much respect to cover artist Adeyemi Adegbesan. You did it again, and, Keisha, you channeled Arrah brilliantly.
Natasha Bardon, thank you for being a champion of this book at HarperVoyager UK. To the marketing team, Rachel Quin, Fleur Clarke, and Hannah O’Brien, thank you. Jaime Frost, thank you for publicity. To the design team, you created a magical cover for the UK market. Thanks to Robyn Watts for working tirelessly on production and organizing the special edition.
To my friend Ronni Davis, you are amazing. I adore your energy, kindness, friendship, and humor. Thanks for being there for all the ups and downs, and the fun news.
To my ride-or-die friend Alexis Henderson, one of these days when we’re not on endless deadlines we’re going to finish that secret project, I promise. Thank you for your unrivaled support, which has been a lifeline.
My writing family: Samira, Gloria, Lizzie, Ronni (Hi again!), Ebony, Cathy, Nancy, Irene, Nevien, and honorable members Anna and Kat. Reese, Mia, Lane, Rosaria, and Jeff, who left us for warmer weather. To the Speculators who adopted me: David S, Antra, Axie, David M, Nikki, Liz, Erin, Alex, Helen, Amanda.
Thank you to the countless others who have offered me encouragement and support throughout the years.
The biggest thanks go to the booksellers and librarians for championing Reaper of Souls. And to the readers who’ve championed my books and sent me nice messages, thank you for everything.
About the Author
Photo: aarongang.com
RENA BARRON grew up in small-town Alabama, where stories of magic and adventure sparked her imagination. After penning her first awful poem in middle school, she graduated to writing short stories and novels by high school. Rena loves all things science fiction and fantasy, ghosts, and superheroes. When she’s not writing, she can be found reading or brushing up on her French. She is also the author of the middle grade fantasy series Maya and the Rising Dark.
Visit her online at www.renabarron.com.
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Reaper of Souls
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Copyright
HarperTeen is an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.
REAPER OF SOULS. Copyright © 2021 by Rena Barron. Map by Maxime Plasse. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
www.epicreads.com
Cover art © 2021 by Adeyemi Adegbesan and Studiotan / Shutterstock (frame)
Cover design by Jenna Stempel-Lobell
Library of Congress Control Number: 2020949380
Print ISBN: 978-0-06-287098-8
2122232425PC/LSCH10987654321
FIRST EDITION
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