Dandelion has spent her childhood swept up in her mother's theatrical universe. Her actress mother lives in constant performance mode, blurring the lines between stage and home. Everything feels scripted, from conversations to emotions. Now in ninth grade, Dandelion begins to see through the elaborate charades that have shaped her world. She watches her mother transform ordinary moments into dramatic scenes. She notices how artificial gestures replace genuine feelings. The gap between performance and truth grows wider each day. Dandelion must choose between staying trapped in her mother's fantasy or stepping into authentic life. She discovers that real relationships require dropping the act and showing up as herself.
Genres: fiction, drama, literary-fiction, family-life, contemporary, adolescence
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, unreliable-narrator
Hardcover · Hyperion