First published 2011
Charlotte Swenson wakes up from reconstructive surgery with a face no one recognizes. The Manhattan model's career crumbles when her altered features make her invisible in a world where appearance defines worth. Desperate to rebuild her identity, Charlotte joins an Internet experiment that promises to reinvent her public persona. The digital project offers salvation but threatens to consume what remains of her authentic self. Meanwhile, another Charlotte, a lonely teenager, navigates her own struggles with identity and belonging. Their stories begin to intersect in unexpected ways. The novel explores how technology reshapes human connection and self-perception. Charlotte must decide whether her virtual reinvention will liberate her or trap her in a new kind of performance. Egan examines what happens when the line between public image and private truth disappears entirely.
Genres: fiction, literary-fiction, contemporary, technology, 21st-century, contemporary-romance
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: identity-crisis, reinvention
Setting: Manhattan
Period: 21st-century
514 pages · Paperback · Corsair