WHITE LINES

Gritty and atmospheric, and reminiscent of Party Monster and Mommie Dearest with a bit of Gossip Girl, the novel is loosely based on the author's life.

Seventeen-year old Cat is living most teenagers' dream she has her own parent-free apartment on the Lower East Side and spends her nights as club-kid royalty working the door at various hotspots. Her life is often more like a nightmare, though social workers have made clear she can no longer live at home with her abusive mother, and rather than deal with the problem at hand, her father has simply paid for it to go away.

She's also been forced to change schools, leaving behind her closest friend. Alphabet City in the 1980s is no place for a high school student, especially one who's tough on the outside, scared on the inside. She escapes by submerging herself into the downtown club scene, and ingesting whatever substances help her to forget. When someone comes along that makes her want to stop escaping her life and start living it, though, Cat will finally have to confront the painful skeletons in her closet.

Jennifer Banash has ghostwritten a bestselling Young Adult series for Alloy, and is the author of the Elite series of books. Banash holds a Ph.D. in English from Iowa, and teaches English at a private school in Los Angeles.