When high school senior Mandarin walks into a room, people drop what they are doing to watch and whisper. Even though the attention she gets is not usually positive, fourteen-year-old Grace Carpenter can’t help but be mesmerized by Mandarin, who works in her father’s bar and is always seen with older men. Having skipped ninth grade, Grace is already younger than her classmates and often goes unnoticed. She eats lunch with Alexis and Co., a group of superficial girls who don’t share Grace’s interests of writing and getting out of small town Washokey, only because she is terrified of sitting alone. So when Mandarin specifically asks for Grace as her personal tutor, Grace can’t believe her good fortune. However, once they start spending more time together and Grace gets an inside look into Mandarin’s dangerous life, she must decide whether to follow in Mandarin’s footsteps in order to remain in the spotlight or risk just being herself. 320 pages Ages 14 and up
Recommended by Carrie Shaurette, Librarian
