Crystal

Sixteen-year-old Crystal knows she’s blessed.

She is drop-dead gorgeous and in the beginning stages of a glamorous career as a model in New York City. Suddenly she is balancing choir robes at Victory Tabernacle in Brooklyn with sleek limousines whisking her across the river to high-stakes Manhattan photo shoots.

At first, modeling is exciting. But soon, her life becomes less and less about her, and more and more about her body. Demanding photographers urge her to project a seductive image, and Crystal weighs whether the flash of the camera is worth the quiet ache of betraying who she was raised to be.

Falling behind in class at school, she questions whether rising to fame means watching her truest friendships slowly slip away. Crystal wonders if her new life is worth giving up everything -- her friends, her beliefs, and her self-respect.

Caught between high-fashion glamour and the life she cherishes in Brooklyn, how far will Crystal go before she loses herself completely?

• High Fashion Reality: Behind the glamorous Fifth Avenue photo shoots lies an industry demanding she sacrifice her comfort and modesty.
• Brooklyn Roots: Spending evenings with her parents keeps her grounded, even as late-night parties pull her away.
• Coming of Age Pressures: Between failing grades at DuBois High and drifting apart from her best friend Pat, the demands of celebrity test Crystal’s core values.
• Industry Heartbreak: Watching older model Rowena unravel under relentless professional demands shows Crystal the hidden emotional cost of fame.
• Also by This Author: Monster, Scorpions and Lockdown.