

But The Lady has other ideas, including a magical wish that Tarisai is compelled to obey: Kill the Crown Prince once she gains his trust. That closeness is irresistible to Tarisai, who has always wanted to belong somewhere. If she's picked, she'll be joined with the other Council members through the Ray, a bond deeper than blood. The Lady sends her to the capital of the global empire of Aritsar to compete with other children to be chosen as one of the Crown Prince's Council of 11. She was raised in isolation by a mysterious, often absent mother known only as The Lady. Tarisai has always longed for the warmth of a family. But what if you've sworn to protect the one you were born to destroy? and all the steps you and the people around you need to take in order to get where you need to be. Even if it means breaking some old friendships and making some new ones.Īs they did in their groundbreaking novel George, in Rick, award-winning author Alex Gino explores what it means to search for your own place in the world.

One of them leads to the school's Rainbow Spectrum club, where kids of many genders and identities congregate, including Melissa, the girl who sits in front of Rick in class and seems to have her life together.

And he hasn't given his own identity much thought, because everyone else around him seemed to have figured it out.īut now Rick's gotten to middle school, and new doors are opening. He's let his father joke with him about which hot girls he might want to date even though that kind of talk always makes him uncomfortable. He's gone along with his best friend Jeff even when Jeff's acted like a bully and a jerk. From the award-winning author of George, the story of a boy named Rick who needs to explore his own identity apart from his jerk of a best friend.
