Annabelle Louis, military brat and computer nerd, embarks on her second assignment in making friends in middle school trying out for the school play where, despite what she feels is her total lack of ability, she ends up as understudy for the lead female part, and with more fuel for her popular vlog, Daphne Doesn't--but Annabelle begins to realize that being popular in secret will not mean anything if she can not share her secret with her friends.
Learning to dance before the winter ball is thirteen-year-old Annabelle's latest challenge, supplying ample material for her video blog, Daphne Doesn't--even more challenging is coping with the exposure of her secret identity (it turns out her friend John has known for weeks) by "cool" girl and sometime enemy Rachael, and finding a way to make what she has been hiding right with all her classmates.
When thirteen-year-old Annabelle's mother gets her to dress up a little, she suddenly finds herself eating and shopping with the Rachael and the other "cool" girls, but also loosing the friends, like John, that she had already made; so, disgusted by what fashion is doing to her, she uses her vlog, Daphne Doesn't, to make fun of it all and get back to her true self--but Rachael has figured out who Daphne is, and it looks like Annabelle's secret identity is about to be exposed to the whole school.
Annabelle Louis is a military brat, and complete nerd who has always been homeschooled, but with her mother going on assignment in Afghanistan, she is going to have to attend middle school in Linden, New Jersey; her therapist suggests she try sports to make friends, and she creates a vlog, Daphne Doesn't, in which she makes fun of all the things that she considers a waste of time (for example, sports and school)--the vlog proves to be a big hit, but when her classmates start sharing the videos, Annabelle's secret identity may be exposed.
Ridiculous makeup, blinding spotlights, and too much catty drama! Annabelle Daphne Louis starts her second assignment from her therapist to venture outside of her comfort zone at her new school. This time, she's trying her hand at theater. Failing the auditions for Little Shop of Horrors, Annabelle finds her place backstage. But when Annabelle features some funny impersonations on her vlog, Daphne Doesn't, the drama is just beginning. When the play director shares Daphne's videos with the cast, Annabelle starts experiencing some real-life drama. And as her likes and followers increase like crazy, Annabelle begins to realize that it doesn't mean anything if she doesn't have the guts to make friends in real life.
In her latest novel, the author of the Junior Library Guild Selection "Like Vanessa" follows seventh-grader Annabelle Louis, a super geek and perennial new kid who leads a double life as a hilarious, on-the-rise vlog star named Daphne. Illustrations.
A few months into the school year, Annabelle Louis is starting to find her place at McManus Middle School. But Annabelle's therapist, Dr. Varma, still thinks there's room for improvement in Annabelle's social life, especially since Mom will be leaving soon for an overseas assignment. Knowing there's a school dance coming up, Dr. Varma challenges Annabelle to learn how to dance. What keeps Annabelle interested in the challenge are the hilarious videos she posts on her vlog, Daphne Doesn't, making fun of the various styles of dance she's learning. The videos are a hit, and as Daphne Doesn't goes viral around McManus Middle School and elsewhere, Annabelle's alter ego won't stay secret for long. Will Annabelle continue to live a double life, or can she find a way to combine her two identities into one?
'It seemed simple at first - folding one lie over the next. She had become expert at feathering over the cracks to ensure her life appeared the same. But inside, it didn't feel fixed.' It happened the day of the Moon Festival. It could have been left behind, they all could have moved on with their lives. But secrets have a habit of rising to the surface, especially in small towns. Two couples, four ironclad friendships, the perfect coastal holiday town. With salt-stung houses perched like lifeguards overlooking the shore, Lago Point is the scene of postcards, not crime scenes. Wife and mother Abbi, town cop Blake, schoolteacher Hannah and local doctor Will are caught in their own tangled webs of deceit. When the truth washes in to their beachside community, so do the judgements: victim, or vigilante, who will forgive, who will betray? Not all relationships survive. Nor do all residents.
Middle graders will laugh and cry with thirteen-year-old Vanessa Martin as she tries to be like Vanessa Williams, the first black Miss America. In this semi-autobiographical debut novel set in 1983, Vanessa Martin's real-life reality of living with family in public housing in Newark, New Jersey is a far cry from the glamorous Miss America stage. She struggles with a mother she barely remembers, a grandfather dealing with addiction and her own battle with self-confidence. But when a new teacher at school coordinates a beauty pageant and convinces Vanessa to enter, Vanessa's view of her own world begins to change. Vanessa discovers that her own self-worth is more than the scores of her talent performance and her interview answers, and that she doesn't need a crown to be comfortable in her own skin and see her own true beauty. "It's such an honor to be the focal point of this wonderful book! Without a doubt, it will be inspiring to a new generation of young, talented girls well on their way to promising careers." --Vanessa Williams, Multi-Platinum Recording Artist, New York Times Best-Selling Author, Fashion Designer and star of Television, Film and the Broadway Stage "Like Vanessa has it all and then some! Gritty, poetic, emotionally true, Tami Charles wrings out every hope, every stumble and every triumph of a girl on an uneasy road to possessing her self, her strength and her own beauty. An unforgettable debut." --Rita Williams-Garcia, author of One Crazy Summer and P.S. Be Eleven ♦ "This debut is a treasure: a gift to every middle school girl who ever felt unpretty, unloved, and trapped by her circumstances."— Kirkus Reviews STARRED REVIEW ♦ "Charles evades the clichés and imbues Vanessa with an inner life that's so real and personal it's hard to deny the charm, heartbreak, and triumph of her story. . . . Superb."— Booklist STARRED REVIEW ♦ "Like Vanessa is an emotionally potent, engaging young adult story with a heroine whom it is impossible not to root for. The life lessons that Nessy learns are relevant and worthwhile for everyone."— Foreword Reviews STARRED REVIEW
NATIONAL BOOK FOUNDATION 5 UNDER 35 PICK. FINALIST FOR THE VCU CABELL FIRST NOVELIST AWARD. LONGLISTED FOR THE CENTER FOR FICTION'S FIRST NOVEL PRIZE. Named one of the Best Books of 2018 by NPR, Bookforum and Bustle. One of Entertainment Weekly's 10 Best Debut Novels of 2018. An Amazon Best Book of the Month and named a fall read by Buzzfeed, Nylon, Entertainment Weekly, Elle, Vanity Fair, Vulture, Refinery29 and Mind Body Green A gorgeous, raw debut novel about a young woman braving the ups and downs of motherhood in a fractured America In Lydia Kiesling’s razor-sharp debut novel, The Golden State, we accompany Daphne, a young mother on the edge of a breakdown, as she flees her sensible but strained life in San Francisco for the high desert of Altavista with her toddler, Honey. Bucking under the weight of being a single parent—her Turkish husband is unable to return to the United States because of a “processing error”—Daphne takes refuge in a mobile home left to her by her grandparents in hopes that the quiet will bring clarity. But clarity proves elusive. Over the next ten days Daphne is anxious, she behaves a little erratically, she drinks too much. She wanders the town looking for anyone and anything to punctuate the long hours alone with the baby. Among others, she meets Cindy, a neighbor who is active in a secessionist movement, and befriends the elderly Alice, who has traveled to Altavista as she approaches the end of her life. When her relationships with these women culminate in a dangerous standoff, Daphne must reconcile her inner narrative with the reality of a deeply divided world. Keenly observed, bristling with humor, and set against the beauty of a little-known part of California, The Golden State is about class and cultural breakdowns, and desperate attempts to bridge old and new worlds. But more than anything, it is about motherhood: its voracious worry, frequent tedium, and enthralling, wondrous love.
