Revenge of a Not-So-Pretty Girl

Fans of Walter Dean Myers and Rita Williams-Garcia's One Crazy Summer will cherish this gripping story of an African American girl living in 1980s Brooklyn, who overcomes abuse and neglect in discovering real friendship, self-respect, and that pretty and mean don't always win.

Faye doesn't mean to hit the old lady she and her friends are mugging. But she does. The old lady isn't moving, but Faye has no reason to feel guilty for leaving her there. The old lady might be ancient and wrinkly now. But back in the day, she was as beautiful as they come—a famous movie star. And everyone knows that pretty and mean always go together. But Faye does feel guilty. So she comes back. Slowly, Faye and the old lady form an unlikely friendship, one that pulls Faye out of her life with her abusive mother and destructive "friends" and allows the old lady relief from her loneliness. But in an unfair world in which the pretty girls, no matter how mean, always seem to get everything, while Faye gets nothing, will Faye be able to keep from slipping back to her old ways? Will her mother ever be happy? Will her father ever come home to stay? And what if Faye goes her whole life without Michael Jackson ever loving her back? Faye is an honest, straightforward narrator who is likable even in her most flawed moments and will be cheered on by readers of every age and from every walk of life.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

CAROLITA BLYTHE was born in Kingston, Jamaica, and raised in New York City. A graduate of Syracuse University, she currently resides in Los Angeles, where, when not writing novels, she works behind the scenes on popular television shows. Her debut novel was entitled The Cricket's Serenade. She has also published travel articles and short stories. An avid traveler, Carolita is a New Yorker at heart, who spends summers worshiping the Yankees and autumns pulling for the Jets.