How Maya Got Fierce

After a series of mishaps and miscommunications, a small-town farm girl finds herself working at a women’s fashion magazine in N.Y.C. in this theatrical fish-out-of-water story by Charaipotra (Symptoms of a Heartbreak). Seventeen-year-old Maya Gera, heir-apparent to a garlic empire in California’s Central Valley, is being sent to cow camp in New Jersey for the summer to prepare for taking over the family business. When she realizes that her older cousin’s girlfriend works at her favorite magazine, Fierce, she figures that taking advantage of this connection is her only shot at her dream: working in fashion. Unbeknownst to her parents, Maya applies for and receives a position, ditching the agricultural course. The only problem is that her new boss thinks she’s 26, and what Maya thought was an internship is actually a full-time editorial position. As she secretly juggles her new job and her parents’ increasing suspicions, Maya must decide what lies she’s willing to tell and what she’s ready to give up for her dreams. Charaipotra adeptly weaves Californian South Asian farm culture and the cutthroat world of magazine journalism with an endearing on-again, off-again romance via a determined, take-charge protagonist. Ages 14–up. Agent: Suzie Townsend, New Leaf Literary and Media. (July)