My advice is to read the Author's Note first. I never do this but I think I would have enjoyed the book so much more had I read the Author's Note prior to starting the book. It will have a few spoilers but nothing that would detract from the story. There are some things that happen in the book that are difficult to believe as reality because they are so preposterous. The Author explains why she wrote it the way she did and I think to know this going into the book would make the book much more enjoyable.