Party Girl (12 page)

“An excellent, understated first novel … Like Ben, whose voice is so strong and clear here, Wallace weighs his words carefully, making every one count.”
—
Booklist
(starred review)

An ALA Top Ten Best Book for Young Adults
An ALA Quick Pick for Young Adults

AVAILABLE FROM DELL LAUREL-LEAF BOOKS

SWALLOWING STONES
by Joyce McDonald

It begins with a free and joyful act—but from then on, Michael finds it impossible even to remember what it felt like to be free and joyful. When he fires his new rifle into the air on his seventeenth birthday, he never imagines that the bullet will end up killing someone. But a mile away, a man is killed by that bullet as he innocently repairs his roof. And Michael keeps desperately silent while he watches his world crumble.

Meanwhile, Jenna, the dead man’s daughter, copes with a desperation of her own. Through her grief, she tries to understand why she no longer feels comfortable with her boyfriend and why a near stranger named Michael keeps appearing in her dreams.

Suspenseful and powerfully moving, this is the unforgettable story of an accidental crime and its haunting web of repercussions.

“Mesmerizing.”
—
School Library Journal

“Readers will quickly become absorbed in this electrifying portrayal of fear and deception.”
—
Publishers Weekly

An ALA Best Book for Young Adults
A New York Public Library Book for the Teen Age

Published by
Dell Laurel-Leaf
an imprint of
Random House Children’s Books a division of Random House, Inc.
1540 Broadway
New York, New York 10036

Text copyright © 1998 by Lynne Ewing

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the Publisher, except where permitted by law. For information address Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Random House, Inc., 1540 Broadway, New York, New York 10036.

The trademark Laurel-Leaf Library
^®
is registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
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is registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Visit us on the Web!
www.randomhouse.com/teens
Educators and librarians, for a variety of teaching tools, visit us at
www.randomhouse.com/teachers

eISBN: 978-0-307-47775-0

RL: 6.5

Reprinted by arrangement with Alfred A. Knopf,
a division of Random House, Inc.

v3.0

Table of Contents

The Botánica

Other Books by this Author

Dedication

Chapter 1

About the Author

Copyright