cover image Lifted

Lifted

Wendy Toliver, Simon Pulse, $9.99 paper (352p) ISBN 978-1-4169-9048-2

When high school sophomore Poppy's professor mother relocates them from Boulder, Colo.—where Poppy hung out with the tattooed, anti-conformist crowd—to Pleasant Acres, Tex., where she's to attend a Baptist high school, Poppy is surprised to find herself taken under the wing of two of the most popular girls in school. Poppy's mother is happy to see her with clean-cut new friends, but polished, polite Whitney and Mary Jane have a secret: they love to shoplift. Soon Poppy is stealing from stores and juggling a couple of romantic interests, including the preacher's son. Toliver (the Romantic Comedies series) adeptly captures Poppy's conflict between wanting to do what's right and the rush she gets from lifting, which is underscored by the tension between her independent streak and her relief and appreciation over finding new friends so easily. Mary Jane's complicated history with another student takes the story to its climax, as Poppy has to decide who her friends are and who she is. Poppy is an appealing, relatable protagonist, though secondary characters can be one-dimensional; the ending is pat but satisfying. Ages 14–up. (June)