Mary McCoy

Imperial Day Academy has a student Senate, but the school is really ruled by the Honor Council, a group of students charged with seeing that their peers uphold the school's Honor Code. Claudia never expects to be involved in either group, though her older sister Maisie is poised to be Honor Council president someday. Born prematurely, Claudia has a limp, a stutter, asthma, and various other physical differences that have positioned her as more of an observer than a leader -- but all that will change as she gets caught up in the politics and backstabbing that happen during her time at Imperial Day.

This modern-day retelling of I, Claudius by Robert Graves really hits the mark in so many ways. (Amusingly, Graves is the surname of the principal of Imperial Day.) Readers unfamiliar with the source material will find that this book stands well on its own as a tale of school government machinations, but those who have read I, Claudius will find lots of clever corollaries between the two books. (It does make me wonder who this book is really for, though, as it's the rare teen who is a fan of Graves' work.) There's strength in the writing, plot, and characters -- scheming Livia was particularly well drawn, and Cal was appropriately terrifying. I'd recommend this to readers who enjoy YA stories set in private schools, particularly if they are also fans of Roman history (or, specifically, I, Claudius).… (more)

"Don't believe anything they say."

Those were the last words that Annie spoke to Alice before turning her back on their family and vanishing without a trace. Alice spent four years waiting and wondering when the impossibly glamorous sister she idolized would return to her--and what their Hollywood-insider parents had done to drive her away.

When Annie does turn up, the blond, broken stranger lying in a coma has no answers for her. But Alice isn't a kid anymore, and this time she won't let anything stand between her and the truth, no matter how ugly. The search for those who beat Annie and left her for dead leads Alice into a treacherous world of tough-talking private eyes, psychopathic movie stars, and troubled starlets--and onto the trail of a young runaway who is the sole witness to an unspeakable crime. What this girl knows could shut down a criminal syndicate and put Annie's attacker behind bars--if Alice can find her first. And she isn't the only one looking?… (more)