Pushing Perfect

A gripping, emotionally authentic contemporary YA novel about an overachieving, shy girl from Silicon Valley-and the two pretty green pills that sweep her into an elite underground drug ring at her school. Kara used to have friends, she used to be normal. But then she turned into a monster. The summer she developed a terrible skin condition on her face was the summer she stopped wanting to show her face in public. She cut off all communication with her best friends and retreated into a life of perfect grades, SAT prep, and nights at home alone doing logic puzzles. All she wants is to get into Harvard, and leave high school behind. But when the pressure to ace the SATs finally gets to her, she befriends Alex, another quiet girl from her AP English class who appears to have a double life-quiet and studious by day, poker genius and partier by night. Alex pulls Kara out of her shell and introduces her to an elite underground drug ring at her school-led by the handsome, charismatic Raj. Novalert is a miracle drug way more powerful than Ritalin-and at a hundred bucks a pop, comes at a much steeper price. And if Novalert will help Kara get a perfect score on the SATs and one step closer to a new life, it's a price she's willing to pay. But what starts as two pretty little green pills becomes something much bigger. Once she's in, getting out isn't as easy. And the drug may come at a higher cost than just money.