American Royals

PUBLISHERS WEEKLY 22 JUL 2019

In this drama's reimagined United States of America, George Washington was crowned king rather than becoming the country's first elected president. Now, hundreds of years later, his descendent, Princess Beatrice Georgina Fredericka Louise of the House of Washington, the first female heir to the crown, is 21 and expected to find a husband. Her parents, the King and Queen of America, have vetted several potential candidates, whom she is expected to meet at the upcoming Queen's Ball. There, her tabloid-headline-grabbing twin siblings, Samantha and Jefferson, 19, who have just returned from a postgraduation tour around the world, will make their first official public appearance. Samantha invites her childhood best friend, Nina, as her guest, but Nina is secretly in love with Jefferson, whose ex-girlfriend, meanwhile, has a plan to win him back. Written from multiple perspectives, McGee (The Thousandth Floor) crafts a deliciously soapy American royal family. Though much of the doomed-relationships story arc feels familiar, McGee's characters are well-crafted and flawed, giving the narrative emotional texture that elevates it above the dramatic formula. Ages 14 up.