by Kayla Olson
After we’d both sat in mutual silence for several minutes—the only two people left in the world who knew her, and knew her well—he told me this: You are so much like her. She’d be proud.
Only a few words, yet they were everything.
We’ll help each other remember, too.
Leo brings the French press over to where I’m sitting at the window; Heath brings the mugs. We sit in a row, Leo and Heath on either side of me. We take long, slow sips of our coffee. We watch the stars. All we have is this moment—not the future, not the past. For once, I’m trying to embrace it.
Right now, we are alive.
Right now, we have each other.
We’ve lost so much—but we’ve survived even more. I search the sky, lose myself in its silent, splintered starlight. You are so much like her. She’d be proud. The stars flicker, a thousand thousand fireflies frozen in flight. A deep calm settles over me, settles into a place I feared would be empty forever.
I’ve never been so happy to be wrong.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
To the world’s most wonderful literary agents, Holly Root and Taylor Haggerty: thank you for believing in my work, and for the way you work so hard on behalf of all your clients. I am forever grateful for you and think the world of you both. To Mary Pender and Heather Baror-Shapiro, thank you for always championing my work in the film and foreign rights spheres, respectively—you are both brilliant at what you do, and I can’t thank you enough for all you’ve done on my behalf over the years.
To my editors—Emilia Rhodes, who brought this book into the world, and Elizabeth Lynch, who saw it through—I feel so lucky to have worked with both of you on this project! And to everyone else at HarperTeen who had a hand in making this book happen and getting it in front of readers—Jessie Gang (design), Jon Howard (production editor), Bess Braswell and Michael D’Angelo (marketing), Vanessa Nuttry (production manager), Jessica White (copy editor), Dan Janeck (proofreader), and Gina Rizzo (publicist extraordinaire!)—I’m so grateful for all the time, heart, and energy you put into this project. Thank you!
This book would not be what it is without the wonderful, talented author friends whose insight and encouragement helped shape this book:
Tracey Neithercott, who read this book in a single day—on her birthday!—and offered brilliant suggestions when I needed them most;
Emily Bain Murphy, whose unfailing support and encouragement kept me going on the most difficult of days;
Carlie Sorosiak, who traded drafts with me when I couldn’t wait for Wild Blue Wonder, and who sent the most excellent string of messages upon finishing mine;
Anna Priemaza, who did endless productivity sprints with me when we were both on tight deadlines;
Alison Cherry, whose invaluable beta-reading skills are always so thoughtful and thorough;
Karen M. McManus, whose blurb for this book means so much to me—I adored One of Us Is Lying, and I hope the fact that I’ve written a mystery means we’ll get to do more events together in the future!
When I was in the earliest stages of drafting this book, I flung small snippets of it out to various friends—their enthusiasm for this project was so motivating! Thank you to all of you who expressed excitement along the way: Alex Higgins, China DeSpain, Mark O’Brien, Amanda Olivieri, Lola Sharp, Nadine Jolie Courtney, Gwen Cole, Heather Kaczynski, and Kristen Orlando.
Lodge of Death friends (you know who you are): reading these pages at our various retreats helped fuel the project immensely, as did the innumerable hours I spent working on it at my favorite window, surrounded by all of you.
To #TheSandwolves—especially Stephanie, Carole, Charlotte, and Belle—thank you all for the light you shine into my life! I’m grateful for each of you, and can’t wait to share this book with you. Thank you, too, to my bookstagram friends who helped out with the cover reveal (Melissa at @thereaderandthechef, Heather at @read.write.coffee, and Bridget at @darkfaerietales_)—you do such beautiful work, and I’m grateful you took the time to support mine!
Finally, to my family: Mama and Daddy and Lori, thank you so much for your wonderful support and for believing I could do anything I set my mind to. To my vast network of grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins, and in-laws—thank you for being at my various events, despite long hours on the highways, and for being so excited with me about all of this.
Andrew, I cannot put into words how much I love you. You are my very best friend, and I’m grateful for every single minute we’ve spent together. Thank you for being the sweetest, most wonderful husband a girl could dream of—your love and support mean everything to me. James, you are brilliant and kind and thoughtful and creative, and I cannot wait to see what you do in this world. Thank you for being you: you inspire me every day to be more thoughtful, giving, and kind to the world around me. I love you both so, so much.
In memory of Theo Freeman Malone, Darryl “Cujo” Malone, and Ross Clayton Lehmberg. When I started writing this book, I had not tasted grief like I would over the years to come. By the time this book comes out, I might have tasted more. To Jesus, my savior, who sustains me through every season: When I am overwhelmed, I cast my anxiety on you. Whether heartbroken or bursting with joy, my hope is in you. Where I am not enough, you are. | Philippians 4:6–7
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Photo credit Andrew Olson
KAYLA OLSON was raised in a small town in Texas where an infinite sea of stars still fills the night sky. Her parents met while working at NASA, so it only makes sense that she would inherit their love of space. Before Kayla was an author, she spent her time making both music and lattes. Now she spends her days with her family surrounded by a thousand ideas waiting to be written, black coffee in beautiful mugs, and her faithful and forgiving succulents. Her first novel is The Sandcastle Empire. Find her online at www.kaylaolson.com.
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BOOKS BY KAYLA OLSON
The Sandcastle Empire
This Splintered Silence
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COPYRIGHT
HarperTeen is an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.
THIS SPLINTERED SILENCE. Copyright © 2018 by Kayla Olson. 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.
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Cover art and design by Jessie Gang
Library of Congress Control Number: 2018948007
Digital Edition NOVEMBER 2018 ISBN: 978-0-06-248492-5
Print ISBN: 978-0-06-248490-1 (trade bdg.)
1819202122PC/LSCH10987654321
FIRST EDITION
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