When one of the most famous paintings in the world is stolen, four young lives are changed, for four very different reasons.
The Guy decides to have a house party while his parents are out of town. The Girl is adjusting to life in a new country. The Artist has discovered that forgery is a lucrative business. And his Ex, mother of his baby, is just trying to make ends meet.
As Guy, a feckless high-school senior, plans the party of the year, Rafi worries about her mother, who is still grieving over the drowning death of Rafi’s little brother back in Bolivia and haunted by the specter of La Llorona, the weeping ghost who steals children.
Meanwhile, Rafi’s uncle is an art dealer involved in a scheme to steal one of the most famous paintings in the world, but he needs the forgery skills of Luke, a talented artist who has just split up with his girlfriend, Penny, who wants nothing more than to get him back to be a proper father to Joshie, the baby Rafi babysits.
Engaging, provocative, darkly humorous and fast-paced, with a shocking and near-tragic ending, when Rafi’s mother’s grief tips over into mental illness.
Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.3
Describe how a particular story's or drama's plot unfolds in a series of episodes as well as how the characters respond or change as the plot moves toward a resolution.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.6
Explain how an author develops the point of view of the narrator or speaker in a text.
When one of the most famous paintings in the world is stolen, four young lives are changed, for four very different reasons.
The Guy decides to have a house party while his parents are out of town. The Girl is adjusting to life in a new country. The Artist has discovered that forgery is a lucrative business. And his Ex, mother of his baby, is just trying to make ends meet.
As Guy, a feckless high-school senior, plans the party of the year, Rafi worries about her mother, who is still grieving over the drowning death of Rafi’s little brother back in Bolivia and haunted by the specter of La Llorona, the weeping ghost who steals children.
Meanwhile, Rafi’s uncle is an art dealer involved in a scheme to steal one of the most famous paintings in the world, but he needs the forgery skills of Luke, a talented artist who has just split up with his girlfriend, Penny, who wants nothing more than to get him back to be a proper father to Joshie, the baby Rafi babysits.
Engaging, provocative, darkly humorous and fast-paced, with a shocking and near-tragic ending, when Rafi’s mother’s grief tips over into mental illness.
Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.3
Describe how a particular story's or drama's plot unfolds in a series of episodes as well as how the characters respond or change as the plot moves toward a resolution.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.6
Explain how an author develops the point of view of the narrator or speaker in a text.
| Published By | Groundwood Books Ltd — Mar 1, 2017 |
| Specifications | 256 pages | 5.5 in x 8.5 in |
| Keywords | teenage relationships; angst; relationships; art heist; forgery; death and bereavement; mental health; family and family issues; dating; relationships and love; adaptability; perseverance; narration from different points of view; third person narration; summarizing; connecting; Common Core aligned; CC Literature Key Ideas and Details; CC Literature Craft and Structure; grade 6; fiction; young adult; YA; Melbourne; Picasso; based on a true story; Australia; young adult fiction; |
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Supporting Resources
(select item to download) |
Excerpt |
| Written By |
GABRIELLE WILLIAMS has worked in advertising, recording studios and television. Her first YA novel, Beatle Meets Destiny, was shortlisted for the Prime Minister’s Award and the Victorian Premier’s Literary Award and was named a YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults and a Booklist Top Ten Romance Fiction for Youth. |
| Written By |
|
GABRIELLE WILLIAMS has worked in advertising, recording studios and television. Her first YA novel, Beatle Meets Destiny, was shortlisted for the Prime Minister’s Award and the Victorian Premier’s Literary Award and was named a YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults and a Booklist Top Ten Romance Fiction for Youth. |
| Audience | ages 13 and up / grades 8 and up |
| Reading Levels | Lexile 810L |
| Common Core |
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.3
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.6 |
“Quiet but layered, Williams’s story lingers.” —Publishers Weekly
“Williams' prose is wise, knowing, and sympathetic, her tag-team story moving along at a steady clip toward a heart-thumping climax and a satisfying denouement. A winning, offbeat romp for all ages.” —Kirkus Reviews
“A sophisticated entertainment, this book has intrinsic appeal to adult readers as well as its primary teen target.” —Booklist
“An intriguing and twisting plot keeps readers turning the pages to discover how the relatable characters connect.” —School Library Journal
“A compulsively readable book.” —National Post
“[Williams] manages shrewdly to balance extremes — love and dismissal, nurturing and abuse, loyalty and betrayal — making her characters multi-dimensional, her fiction immediately convincing and her novel one to remember.” —BookDragon