Kiss Kill Vanish

Gr 9 Up—Wealthy Valentina is taking a chance with falling for her father's 24-year-old employee, Emilio. It's a chance that seems absolutely worth it until the night when, while hidden in a closet, she sees him shoot a man point-blank while her father stands and watches. Terrified and confused, the teen flees to Montreal, leaving behind the comforts her father's success in the art trade have brought her—the yachts, the Klimts and Picassos that adorn her Miami mansion, and the freedom to never have to think about money. Her reality up north is radically different. Accompanied only by Emilio's mandolin, under the simple moniker Jane, she busks for money, barely making enough to eat, when an encounter with Lucien, a spoiled and cocky artist, lands her a job as his muse and model. She manages to coast by until a run-in with Emilio at an art show spirals her back into his arms. What proceeds is a whirlwind of intrigue and romance that, aided by Lucien's troubled, but far humbler brother, involves a yacht fire, an FBI bust, a standoff at gunpoint, and a helicopter rescue. From the heat of Miami to the cold streets of Montreal, Martinez's modern-day film noir is a wild ride for romance and thriller fans alike.—Joanna Sondheim, Columbia Grammar & Preparatory School, New York City