Khristina Chess

The Cutting Edge of Friendship

A psychological thriller that will appeal to fans of My Sister Rosa-this story explores the consequences of silence about bullying and mental illness. Riley is not a psychopath. It's just that he was born unable to understand emotions. Is that person embarrassed or insecure? Suspicious or curious? It's confusing when someone says, "Please don't hate me," but their face says, "You should definitely hate me for occupying the same planet right now because I wrecked your car." Riley's life is filled with mind-numbing boredom until Henry arrives. Henry's amazing! Henry believes the world is populated by robots posing as humans. Visiting Henry's world is like being a tourist in a foreign land. When police question Riley about Henry's disappearance, Riley lies about their dangerous game and scrambles to save himself from being named accessory to mass murder at their school. But if Henry talks, Riley loses. When someone feels nothing, do things like loyalty, friendship, and trust really matter?

Unquiet Riot

When tall, gorgeous Brody asks Olivia to the prom, she's ecstatic-until he suggests that she use the two months before the dance to lose some weight. Does he think she's fat? His comment sends Olivia on a spiral of insecurity and dangerously rapid weight loss that borders on anorexia. As her pounds vanish, her friendship deepens with Ross, the new prep cook at the diner where she works. Despite his mysterious limp, he doesn't suffer crippling low self-esteem like Olivia does; usually, she can't even look at herself in the mirror anymore. But when she's riding dirt bikes and searching for caves with Ross, she doesn't feel ugly or fat, just herself again-hanging out and having fun. With Brody, instead of finding the romance and true love she had hoped for, she feels like a terrified rabbit that he's going to devour. She refuses to think about that. She's almost thin enough to be beautiful for the prom. And then the unthinkable happens.

Hollow Beauty

For fans of Sarah Dessen's Dreamland comes a steamy thriller about a runaway teenager who escapes an abusive relationship. Love isn't supposed to take prisoners. Sixteen-year-old Grace Keegan, darling of the child pageant world, is missing. Police initially believe she ran away-until they locate her abandoned cell phone along the highway. No one knows she met someone online, someone older, a musician named Quentin Brock who has a cool band named Acid Mozart. He seems to be romantic, cute, and funny. He seems to be the perfect guy. By the time he reveals his true colors, Grace is trapped in another state with no way out. She doesn't even have shoes.

Junior Missing

For fans of Wintergirls, The Delinquent Hero is a heart-wrenching mystery about a grieving teen's search for answers about her anorexic sister's sudden and tragic accident. It's the haunting question in these situations: why? Everyone is saying Kat fell and hit her head, causing a catastrophic brain bleed. She's severely malnourished and on life support, and in a few days, the doctors will remove the ventilator. But when 18-year-old Molly visits her sister's rental house, it looks more like a crime scene that someone cleaned up. Stories about what happened are inconsistent. Later at the hospital, when Molly whispers into her sister's ear about the odd things she discovered, alarms start wailing on Kat's cardiac monitor. It's like, even though she's supposedly brain dead, some part of Kat still hears her. Like maybe something evil happened in that house. Like maybe someone tried to murder her. Don't miss this raw and unforgettable story of a complicated sisterhood, eating disorders, and loss.

The Delinquent Hero

Suicide should be the last thing on Kim's mind. She's on track for being valedictorian of her senior class and getting into the perfect college. Then her parents' separation ruins everything. Suddenly, she finds herself in a downward spiral of depression and academic confusion. Despite her study efforts, she's in danger of getting a B in Calculus. That can't happen. Kim believes the only way she can afford to attend the university she wants is through academic scholarships, by being at the top of her class, a perfect GPA, first place, valedictorian. Her whole future is riding on her grades. With the clock ticking on the grading period, the last thing she needs is to fall in love with the cute new guy in Writer's Club. High school romance isn't part of her plan. As the day for report cards draws near, depression threatens to overwhelm Kim, and she makes secret preparations for committing suicide. What will it take for her to realize that getting a B isn't the end of the world?

Straight A's

Acceptance into MIT means everything to Kansas Jones, a straight-A student, class president, top female swimmer on the varsity team, and member of the local teen robotics club. Her high school resume is immaculate. Getting pregnant at eighteen is unthinkable.Then the unthinkable happens.Twelve weeks seems like plenty of time to take care of the situation. She knows what to do. It's just that she has to take SATs first... and study for finals for the grading period... and prepare for her local MIT interview. Her Early Action college application is due. The team is pushing hard to finish their robot in time for the R2-RoboCon competition in December. An abortion requires money and time to plan, and she doesn't have either.When a close family member loses a child, Kansas sees how she could fix everything, but it might cost her MIT and all her dreams for the future. Is she willing to carry this unwanted pregnancy to term? Will she be able to give the baby away?

Khristina Chess

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