March 28, 2016
Sex, lies, and secrets are the hallmarks of Manaster’s debut, an appropriately dark retelling of Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray. Heidi is the queen of campus at the Chandler Academy boarding school, a role she has built for herself and takes very seriously. When Doreen Gray—cousin to Heidi’s roommate, Biz—comes to Chandler, Heidi sees a chance to turn a quiet, plain girl into one of the most powerful women on campus, along with Biz and Heidi herself. Heidi’s plans don’t unfold as planned, leading the trio down a dangerous path. As updates go, Manaster’s gender-bent version is quite faithful, with power-hungry Heidi a stand-in for Lord Henry, Biz a moral foil à la Basil Hallward, and a Photoshopped image of Doreen the vehicle for her transformation and a gruesome record of her downfall. Readers familiar with the original will have no trouble identifying the many parallels. Filled with vivid imagery and characters readers will love to hate, the story takes on a haunting, sinister tone early on, maintaining it through the descent into madness. Ages 13–up. Agent: Rebecca Sherman, Writers House.
April 15, 2016
A retelling of The Picture of Dorian Gray set in a New England prep school.There may not be many teens acquainted with Oscar Wilde's classic novel, but there are plenty who are familiar with cliched mean-girl books. At predominately white Chandler Academy, Heidi rules the social roost. When roommate Biz's pimply cousin, Doreen Gray, transfers to Chandler, Heidi oversees her makeover. Biz's touched-up photo on the school social media site makes Doreen look glamorous, and soon Doreen has traded places with the image. Under Heidi's tutelage, Doreen surrounds herself with snobbish friends, collects designer bags, and tramples on boys' hearts. There's as much hedonism here as in Dorian Gray, but the plot focuses to a surprising extent on Heidi's preoccupation with male approval as it wanders through the thematic territory of both Pygmalian and Heathers. According to malicious, blackmailing Heidi, it's "important to be waited for, waited upon, but never to wait for anyone. It [makes] a woman seem desperate, like less of a prize." The narrative is full of 19th-century language ("I cannot tolerate this inconstancy. Resolve yourself") oddly juxtaposed with more pedestrian prose: "then Doreen would tell him, in no uncertain terms, to go fuck himself."While some might find pleasure in the ironic tone of this novel, overall it's trifling at best. (Fiction. 14-17)
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June 1, 2016
Gr 9 Up-This stylish retelling of The Picture of Dorian Gray transports Oscar Wilde's characters-in all their hedonistic angst-to a present-day prep school for New England's WASP elite. When awkward, frumpy Doreen transfers into Chandler Academy, her driven photographer cousin Biz and shark-toothed queen bee Heidi give Doreen's profile picture for Chandler's social network the full Photoshop treatment, with mixed intentions. Doreen wakes up the next morning transformed into the flawless girl in the photograph and hits the ground running, without a second thought to the casual cruelty that goes hand in hand with a quick rise to the top. Wear and tear of Doreen's pleasure-seeking behavior manifests itself on the photo Biz took, which gets uglier with each escapade. Heidi's scheming and string-pulling are given as much time as the protagonist's exploits, and the complicated, scandalous backstory connecting the main characters is perplexing but curious enough to keep teens turning the pages. Manaster's language and tone give the story a classic, set-apart feel, and there is a healthy mix of reserved refinement and soapy melodrama. VERDICT This unusual retelling may not be for everyone but will find an audience with fans of high society mean girl fare, and those familiar with the source material.-Beth McIntyre, Madison Public Library, WI
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