Being Audrey Hepburn

Lisbeth is a Jersey girl who works at a local diner but dreams of a glamorous New York City life à la Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Her best friend Jess, who has an internship at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, surprises Lisbeth with the chance to try on Hepburn’s famous Givenchy dress, and Lisbeth’s world changes as Manhattan’s rich and famous mistake her for one of their own at a Met gala. Thus begins a whirlwind of celebrity party-hopping for Lisbeth, with aspiring designer Jess updating Lisbeth’s grandmother’s vintage wardrobe behind the scenes. As Lisbeth worries that she’ll be found out, she has less and less time for family, friends, and Jake, the boy she’s flirting with back home. First-time novelist Kriegman (creator of Clarissa Explains It All) hits all the right notes for breezy escapist fiction—Manhattan glamour, glitzy parties, couture designs, and the name-dropping that goes with them. Yet as the stakes grow higher, Kriegman neglects Lisbeth’s New Jersey life (much as Lisbeth herself does). By the time she realizes she’s “forgotten about Jake,” readers may have forgotten him, too. Ages 14–up. Agent: Amy Berkower, Writers House. (Sept.)