Mary Lynn Smith needs to see her name in lights on Broadway. It has been her dream since the fourth grade. When Conrad Kovak, her longtime rival, ruins her audition for the role of Sandy in Harrison High’s production of Grease with a prank that embarrasses her beyond measure, Mary hatches a plan for revenge that may cost her her best friend.
Jalese Maren wants a fresh start. Looking back at her high school career at Harrison High, she does not want to be filled with regret. But the relationships she has forged over the past three years at school are not as good as she had dreamed they would be. She now despises her cheerleader friends, and Van, her boyfriend of three years and the quarterback for the school’s football team, morphed into someone she no longer respects. Auditioning for the school’s musical is her chance. If she could only just get past Mary…
These two worlds collide as these girls team up to make the production a success. They must take off the masks that they wear around in their efforts to achieve their greatest desires before graduation from high school.
"That line broke me. Stanco writes the exact moment a teenager realizes the thing they're best at might not be theirs anymore. Mary is prickly and petty and completely sympathetic, which is so much harder to pull off than people think."
Reader & Former Drama Kid
"Gina and Tina cornering Mary about Rizzo is the most accurate ninety seconds of high school I've read in years. Thirty years in a classroom will do that. I'm putting this in my drama club's hands the day it drops."
High School Theater Director
"I came for the rivalry and stayed for the friendship. Watching Mary teach Jalese how to actually feel a song — and watching Jalese finally tell someone the truth — is worth every page. My daughter and I fought over the copy all week."
Parent & Reader
Auditions are over. The parts are cast. What happens between the first rehearsal and closing night is where Mary and Jalese find out who they actually are — and who they've been pretending to be since freshman year. Get your copy before opening night and find your shade of pink.
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