Wonderland
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- $12.99
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
Sixteen-year-old Jude has to get out of tiny Churchtown. She has to escape her outcast status and her pathetic dad, who hasn’t gotten past her mother’s death. The one bright light is drama, her way out, if only she can get into the Lab, a prestigious program in London. Then Stella, Jude’s childhood best friend, swaggers in after years away. With bold and magnetic Stella by her side, Jude knows she’s capable of anything. But Stella’s influence extends well beyond the theater. Soon Stella’s wild and dangerous streak begins to cause trouble for Jude — yet Jude can’t bring herself to abandon Stella and the attention she’s always craved. And besides, now that Stella’s back, there’s no stopping her. In Jude’s dark and tangled story, British author Joanna Nadin plumbs the aftermath of loss and the consequences of becoming the person you always wished you were.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
"Jude. Named after a song in the hope that I'd stand out and shine. But I didn't. Jude the Invisible. Jude the Obscure." British author Nadin's wrenching U.S. debut centers on 16-year-old Jude, a talented actress who feels outcast, alone, and out of place at school and at home, where the presence of her vibrant mother still lingers years after her death. Jude longs for the return of her brash childhood friend, Stella, and soon after, Stella pops back into Jude's life, helping Jude regain her confidence even taking her place at a crucial acting audition but also leading her down a path of self-destructive behavior. Observant readers will pick up clues in Nadin's prose that hint at the book's twist ending, but the author skillfully keeps the conclusion from feeling foregone, even with an opening scene that has Jude and Stella in a car about to head over a cliff. Indeed, even those who figure out Stella's secret before Jude does won't be disappointed in their final confrontation, and many will want to reread the book armed with their new knowledge. Ages 14 up.
