by Ann Liang
First published 2022
Alice Sun stands out at her elite Beijing international boarding school for all the wrong reasons. She's the sole scholarship student surrounded by China's wealthiest and most powerful teenagers. Then something impossible happens: she starts turning invisible without warning or control. When her parents deliver devastating news that they can no longer cover her tuition costs even with financial aid, Alice sees an opportunity in her bizarre new ability. She creates a secret business selling her classmates' hidden scandals and closely guarded secrets. Alice sneaks unseen through dormitories and private spaces, gathering information that students will pay handsomely to obtain. But her invisible espionage work grows increasingly dangerous as clients demand evidence of serious crimes rather than harmless gossip. Alice faces an impossible choice between financial survival and moral compromise, risking not just her integrity but her very life.
Genres: coming-of-age, mystery, contemporary, academic
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: fish-out-of-water, secret-business
Setting: Beijing, China
Period: 21st-century
311 pages · Kindle Edition · Inkyard Press