Four-Letter Word
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- $9.99
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
“Raw, real, and impossible to put down.” —Jennifer Mathieu, author of The Truth About Alice and Moxie
“Tender, gripping, and deceptively haunting.” —Brendan Kiely, New York Times bestselling coauthor of All American Boys and The Last True Love Story
“Bold and edgy…will leave readers breathlessly turning pages.” —Gae Polisner, author of The Memory of Things and The Summer of Letting Go
Eight friends. One game. A dozen regrets. And a night that will ruin them all, in this high-stakes gripping story of manipulation and innocence lost, from the author of Bleed Like Me.
Chloe Sanders is ready for a change. She’s tired of watching her best friend Eve turn away from her for the more interesting and popular Holly Reed, and tired of living with her grandparents while her parents volunteer overseas. Chloe spends her days crushing on a guy named Mateo, being mostly ignored by Eve and Holly, and wishing the cornfields of Iowa didn’t feel so incredibly lonely.
Then a new girl transfers to her high school—Chloe Donnelly. This Chloe is bold and arty and instantly placed on a pedestal by Eve and Holly. Now suddenly everyone is referring to Chloe Sanders as “Other Chloe” and she figures the only thing to do is go with it.
Chloe Donnelly introduces all her friends to a dangerous game: a girls vs. guys challenge that only has one rule—obtain information by any means necessary. Chloe Donnelly’s got power over everyone—secrets she’s exploiting—and she uses it to keep them all playing. When the game turns nasty, soft-spoken Mateo chooses Other Chloe to help him expose everything Chloe Donnelly has done. But neither realize just how much the truth could cost them in the end.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
A game quickly turns sinister in this suspenseful novel from Desir (Other Broken Things) featuring high schoolers who have secrets to hide. In the game, captains of two opposing teams each come up with a secret word, which the other team must guess by acquiring clues from the players, using "whatever means necessary." It all seems innocent enough when introduced by new student Chloe Donnelly, who recently arrived in Grinnell, Iowa, and is looking for a little excitement. Chloe Sanders, however, has her reservations, and the game soon spins out of control after players resort to sexual favors and blackmail to win. By the time the teens realize how dangerous the game is, Chloe Donnelly has too much leverage on everyone to make quitting an option. Though the premise and repercussions of the game are a bit contrived. Chloe Sanders's battle to do the right thing, and her concern for her boyfriend, Mateo, who has the most to lose by quitting, provide a sense of urgency. Readers will likely be riveted to learn who ultimately wins the game and discover the truth about manipulative Chloe Donnelly. Ages 14 up.