First published 2024
Raquel stands out on College Hill in 1998, one of few students of color at her Ivy League school. While preparing her art history thesis, she feels the weight of working twice as hard as her privileged classmates whose futures seem guaranteed. When she begins dating a well-connected older art student, doors suddenly open and social barriers fall away. But as Raquel navigates between her two worlds, she uncovers the story of Anita de Monte, a rising artist found dead in New York City thirteen years earlier. Anita's death made headlines in 1985, then faded from memory entirely. As Raquel digs deeper into Anita's life and career, unsettling parallels emerge between the forgotten artist's relationship and her own romance with the older student. The stories of both women interweave across decades, revealing how power operates in elite circles and questioning which voices get preserved and which disappear.
Genres: fiction, art, historical-fiction, mystery, crime, contemporary, art-history, academic
Vibes: atmospheric, emotional, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, social-climbing, uncovering-the-past
Setting: College Hill, New York City
Period: 1985, 1998
341 pages · Paperback · Bloomsbury