First published 2022
Madison Washington has spent her entire life passing as white in Springville, Georgia, following the strict orders of her fanatical father Thomas. She endures constant bullying at her small town high school, keeping her head down and managing bigger problems at home. Then a surprise rainstorm exposes her most guarded secret: Maddy is biracial. After a bullying video goes viral and reveals the racist culture at Springville High, student leaders decide to host the school's first integrated prom. The popular white class president persuades her Black quarterback boyfriend to ask Maddy as his date. For the first time, Maddy wonders if she might have a chance at a normal teenage life. But her classmates have other plans for her. What they don't realize is that Maddy carries another secret, one far more dangerous than her mixed heritage. On prom night in Springville, that secret will demand a terrible price from everyone.
Genres: american-fiction, historical-fiction, african-american, contemporary
Vibes: dark, emotional, thought-provoking
Tropes: deception, secrets, social-outcasts
Setting: Georgia, Springville
Period: 21st-century
416 pages · Hardcover · Quill Tree Books
Content warnings: racism, violence