Synopses & Reviews
When Doreen Gray walks in the vaulted doorway of elite Chandler Academy, she is a sad, disastrous mess of acne, frizzy hair, and low self-esteem. Social climber turned queen bee Heidi Whelan knows right away that she has found her new protégé, while Heidis old-monied roommate Biz Gibbons-Brown takes a picture of Doreen and works her Photoshop magic to create a stunning profile pic.
None of the three girls expect Doreen to wake up the next morning the embodiment of the glossy, digital makeover, least of all Doreen. In order to maintain her sleek façade, Doreen has to hide her real self and the only hardcopy of the original photo Biz took, which begins to rapidly and disturbingly deteriorate. All the while, Heidis master plan must morph into a different shape.
Out with the men of nineteenth century London and in with the girls of twenty-first century New England, Doreen is a sharp and scandal-filled YA retelling of Oscar Wildes classic The Picture of Dorian Gray.
Synopsis
If Doreen Gray were to take a selfie upon her arrival at the elite Chandler
Academy, it would capture a face marked with acne, a head full of frizz, and eyes looking anywhere but at the lens.
What Chandler queen bee Heidi Whelan sees is a desperate hunger for acceptance and the makings of a willing and useful protege. Heidi's roommate, Biz Gibbons-Brown, works her Photoshop magic to create a stunning profile pic of Doreena glossy, digital makeover that Doreen initially rejects . . . only to wake up the next morning transformed as the girl in the picture.
But Doreen quickly becomes accustomed to her newfound power and lives without considering consequences of her actions. Only the picture knows the truth, and she will do anything to protect her secret.
In this sharp, scandal-filled retelling of Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray, the men of nineteenth-century London become three girls of twentyfirst-century New England.
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About the Author
Ilana Manaster has an MFA in fiction and translation from Columbia University, where she also taught in the Undergraduate Writing Program. She volunteered as a mentor to young writers through Girls Write Now and has performed her own writing in a one-woman show in the Fringe Festival as a stand-up comedian. Doreen is her debut novel. Ilana currently lives in Portugal with her husband and son. You can follow her via Twitter @ilanamanaster.