Book excerpt: Nestled in the Golden Coast of California, Danielle Lee lives a lie. As her senior year in high school begins and the escape of her dark secret draws near, she unexpectedly finds someone. Dannie struggles to move past her torments, hide the truth from her friends, and keep it together until she can finally have what she has always wanted—freedom. Reed is a junior who just moved to California from Kansas. Wildly attracted to Dannie, he is convinced she is everything he has been waiting for. After fate leads them to finally meet in the school library, Dannie first tries to place Reed in the dreaded friend zone. But she, too, cannot ignore the obvious chemistry. As Reed teaches her how to find hope, trust, and even love, Dannie must decide whether to harbor her secrets or reveal the truth and risk everything. While she wrestles with her decision, Dannie has no idea that a secret obsession will drive another young man to stop at nothing until she is his and his alone. The Face You See shares the compelling tale of a teenage girl’s quest to free herself from her past, and when she does she finds hope, the courage to embrace love, and the will to defy all odds in the most unlikely of circumstances. “In swift and relatable prose, The Face You See juggles the many difficult topics and circumstances that young adults face.” –Foreword Clarion Review ★★★★★ “ …those who have experienced or overcome traumas will find Dannie relatable and empowering …” -BlueInk “It initially seems that this book will present yet another high school love triangle, but the plot surprises and unsettles those expectations. It moves past lighthearted teen drama to present a serious, emotionally affecting coming-of-age tale … An engaging contemporary romance, whose conflicted, nuanced heroine helps it transcend the conventions of its genre.” -Kirkus Review