500 Words or Less
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
“Compelling.” —School Library Journal
“Moving.” —Publishers Weekly
“Poignant.” —Kirkus Reviews
A high school senior attempts to salvage her reputation among her Ivy League–obsessed classmates by writing their college admissions essays and in the process learns big truths about herself in this mesmerizing debut novel-in-verse, perfect for fans of Gayle Forman and Elizabeth Acevedo.
Nic Chen refuses to spend her senior year branded as the girl who cheated on her charismatic and lovable boyfriend. To redefine her reputation among her Ivy League–obsessed classmates, Nic begins writing their college admissions essays.
But the more essays Nic writes for other people, the less sure she becomes of herself, the kind of person she is, and whether her moral compass even points north anymore.
Provocative, brilliant, and achingly honest, 500 Words or Less explores the heartbreak and hope that marks the search for your truest self.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this moving novel in verse, Nic Chen agrees to write her classmates' college essays for a price and becomes not only her peers' accidental biographer but also a vessel for many of their secrets. Through Nic's poetic narration and essays, debut author del Rosario unearths the profound range of emotions buried underneath the surface in a class of high school students grief about a parent who left, hope of becoming someone who is "more than a football player," pain of walking down the school hallways while being the object of cruel gossip. Nic carries her own percolating well of loss, too: of her mother, who left; of her ex, Ben, who transferred after she cheated; and of her classmates' respect following the incident ("whore" is written in lipstick across her locker in one scene). Del Rosario's poems are accessible, and Nic proves herself a keen observer of the world around her, an adept interrogator of her own self, and a philosopher who considers how and why life happens the way it does. Ages 14 up.
