Today's Read: Genuine Fraud by E. Lockhart

What would you do if you were a scrappy, poor orphan who was mistaken for a rich orphan who had all the resources in the world? For Jule, there's no question about taking advantage of her good luck. The question you should probably be asking is this: Was it good luck or manipulation that gave Jule a taste of the good life?

Chapter 18
Begin here

It was a bloody great hotel.

The minibar in Jule's room stocked potato chips and four different chocolate bars. The bathtub had bubble jets. There was an endless supply of fat towels and liquid gardenia soap. In the lobby, an elderly gentleman played Gershwin on a grand piano at four each afternoon. You could get hot clay skin treatments, if you didn't mind strangers touching you. Jule's skin smelled like chlorine all day.

The Playa Grande Resort in Baja had white curtains, white tile, white carpets, and explosions of lush white flowers. The staff members were nurselike in their white cotton garments. Jule had been alone at the hotel for nearly four weeks now. She was eighteen years old.

—Genuine Fraud by E. Lockhart (Delacorte Press, 2017, p. 1)

Quick Facts

• Setting: modern times, United States, the UK, Mexico
• Circumstances: Two orphans, two very different lives, one friendship. Jule, willing to do what it takes to escape her lowly background and hide her insecurities, becomes a master of disguises and accents. Imogene, an heiress, is taking time off from college, supposedly living carefree on a journey of self-discovery. Who are these women and whose is telling the truth?
• Genre: thriller
• What makes this novel different: The novel starts with the final chapter, and the story, which takes place across the globe and over about a year, is told in reverse. The plot is, in fact, unraveled rather than knitted. Jule's and Immie's lives are twisted and tangled together, and it's difficult to tell which young woman is in control.
• Reviews: Genuine Fraud has earned several starred reviews. Kirkus says: "This thriller . . . will challenge preconceptions about identity and keep readers guessing." Publisher's Weekly notes that the novel "will keep readers on their toes, never entirely sure of what these girls are responsible for or capable of." School Library Journal recommends the book "for teens and adults who love twisty mysteries, stories about class conflict, and tough-as-nails teen girls"
  
• Why I want to read it: I'm intrigued by a thriller that is told in reverse and I've read nothing but praise for the book. I hope to read it this week.
• Extras: Author E. Lockhart talked to B&N about some of her favorite books starring difficult women and to Bookish about antiheroes and action movies.