cover image 500 Words or Less

500 Words or Less

Juleah del Rosario. Simon Pulse, $18.99 (384p) ISBN 978-1-5344-1044-2

In this moving novel in verse, Nic Chen agrees to write her classmates’ college essays for a price and becomes not only her peers’ accidental biographer but also a vessel for many of their secrets. Through Nic’s poetic narration and essays, debut author del Rosario unearths the profound range of emotions buried underneath the surface in a class of high school students—grief about a parent who left, hope of becoming someone who is “more than a football player,” pain of walking down the school hallways while being the object of cruel gossip. Nic carries her own percolating well of loss, too: of her mother, who left; of her ex, Ben, who transferred after she cheated; and of her classmates’ respect following the incident (“whore” is written in lipstick across her locker in one scene). Del Rosario’s poems are accessible, and Nic proves herself a keen observer of the world around her, an adept interrogator of her own self, and a philosopher who considers how and why life happens the way it does. Ages 14–up. Agent: Brent Taylor, Triada U.S. [em](Sept.) [/em]