RIPPLE

When their too-adult lives lead them down self-destructive paths, these broken teens find a way to heal in this YA novel perfect for fans of Ellen Hopkins.

With her impossible-to-please grandmother on her back about college and her disapproving step-dad watching her every move, Tessa would do anything to escape the pressure-cooker she calls home. So she finds a shot of much-needed power and confidence by hooking up with boys, even though it means cheating on her boyfriend. But when she's finally caught red-handed, she’ll do anything she can to cover up what she's done.

Jack is a prankster who bucks the system every chance he gets—each transgression getting riskier and riskier. He loves the thrill, and each adventure allows a little release because his smug smile and suave demeanor in the face of authority doesn’t make life at home with his mom any less tough. He tries to take care of her, but the truth is he's powerless in the face of her fragile mental health. So he copes in his own way, by defacing public property and pulling elaborate pranks, though he knows in the end this’ll only screw up his life even more.

As they both try not to let their self-destructive patterns get the best of them, Tessa and Jack gravitate toward one another, discovering the best parts of themselves in the process. An honest portrayal of the urges that drive us and finding the strength to overcome them, Ripple is a stunning debut from a powerful new voice.

Heather Smith Meloche is a writer and ESL instructor. She majored in English and Telecommunication at Michigan State University before completing a Master's in Teaching English as a Second Language at Bowling Green State University. She won first place in the children's/YA category of the Writer's Digest Annual Competition in 2011 and her short fiction piece "Crosswire Bend" appeared on the Young Adult Review Network with the honor of being their first published short story in verse. She also won the Katherine Paterson Prize through Hunger Mountain for her short story in verse, "Him," on which Ripple is based. She lives in Rochester Hills, Michigan, with her husband, two sons, two dogs, and two cats.