First Lines Friday ★ 5

Friday 1 November 2019 BY Maggie ☆ 劉美儒 ☆ They

First Lines Fridays is a weekly feature for book lovers hosted by Wandering Words. What if instead of judging a book by its cover, its author or its prestige, we judged it by its opening lines?

Pick a book off your shelf (it could be your current read or on your TBR) and open to the first page. Copy the first few lines, but don’t give anything else about the book away just yet – you need to hook the reader first.
Finally… reveal the book!

Some parents tell their kids they can be anything. Mine did not.
I was not told that if I worked hard, my dreams would come true. Or that life was fair. Or that wishes were made of stardust, or candy canes, or were delivered by unicorns.
I was told the truth: that some people get lucky, and some people don't, which is why I'm skipping fifth period to ride an elevator in one of swanky Uptown's old arts buildings.
"What do you mean it's this weekend?"
Holding my cell tightly against my ear, I drill my opposite thumb into my temple, careful not to let the four girls entering the elevator on the fifth floor see the phone's blank screen.
They're late. According to the Copeland Ballet Academy's online schedule, Dance II–a requirement for all third-year students–gets out at ten to four on Mondays. Now I've only got twenty minutes to book it down Lake Street and catch the red line to Devon Park. If I miss it, I'm late for work at Pete's, and that's the last thing I need.
I've got five minutes to work some magic.

How does it sound? Are you intrigued?

This is The Deceivers by Kristen Simmons. I did a whole review of it earlier this year and I can't wait for Scammed to come out.

About the Book

Pretty Little Liars meets Ocean's 11 in this intrigue-filled contemporary drama from acclaimed author Kristen Simmons.

Welcome to Vale Hall, the school for aspiring con artists.
When Brynn Hilder is recruited to Vale, it seems like the elite academy is her chance to start over, away from her mom's loser boyfriend and her rundown neighborhood. But she soon learns that Vale chooses students not so much for their scholastic talent as for their extracurricular activities, such as her time spent conning rich North Shore kids out of their extravagant allowances.
At first, Brynn jumps at the chance to help the school in its mission to rid the city of corrupt officials--because what could be better than giving entitled jerks what they deserve? But that's before she meets her mark--a senator's son--and before she discovers the school's headmaster has secrets he'll stop at nothing to protect. As the lines between right and wrong blur, Brynn begins to realize she's in way over her head.

Look at me, working on content, on a schedule, regular-like. I deserve a cookie, oh, look, I have a one sitting here next to me. Don't mind if I do. I finally got around to downloading Tik Tok this week and, y'all, I have a bad addiction to it. Also, my sister's kinda big on the site? And that heifer didn't tell me? If you're reading this, sis, I know and I am hurt. ha! I have no idea what I'm going to do with the account, but it's there. Probably make weird dog videos. Because I'm that person, to be honest.
Anyways, Tune in tomorrow for another review! I am on such a roll!