MY LIFE IN BLACK AND WHITE

Lexi was always known for her beauty - until her face went through a windshield. If she's not just a pretty girl anymore, who is she?

Lexi's beauty is what drew her best friend, Taylor, to her in kindergarten. "You're pretty," Taylor had said to Lexi, before inviting her to play. "I know," Lexi had replied. But in one terrible moment of one terrible night, Lexi's beauty is taken from her when she goes face-first through a car windshield. The worst part? It was Taylor's fault. If Lexi hadn't walked in on Taylor hooking up with her boyfriend, she never would have gotten into the car. She never would have been in the accident. Now Lexi has to dig deep to figure out how to define herself. Help on her journey of self-discovery comes from unexpected sources: Ruth, Lexi's sister, "the smart one" to Lexi's "the pretty one", with whom Lexi has never been close; and Theo, a classmate who is still recovering from his sister's recent death from anorexia. In the end, Lexi finds strength she never knew she had - and learns that life is about more than pretty and not pretty, right and wrong, black and white.

Natasha Friend is the author of three middle grade novels and one other young adult novel. She's the mother of three young children and lives in Madison, Connecticut.