The Birthday Girl

June 1, 2019
On her 40th birthday, a fashion designer reflects on everything she has--and everything she stands to lose--as the life she thought she left behind catches up to her. Ellie de Florent-Stinson is throwing an epic birthday party for herself at her mansion in Palm Springs, and no one seems to be looking forward to it, least of all her. Though she's grateful to be married with four kids, her home life is less than ideal: Her husband is unemployed, her twin boys are wild, and her daughter is being bullied at school. Her stepdaughter makes an appearance at the party, but so does her husband's vicious ex. Worst of all, if she doesn't come through with a new business deal soon, Ellie's company will go bankrupt--thinking of her age, she laments that fashion has changed. In alternating chapters, de la Cruz (All for One, 2019, etc.) contrasts the glamorous but vacuous world of the back-stabbing elite with gritty but often sweet memories of Ellie's impoverished youth living next door to her best friend in an Oregon trailer park. In a flashback set 24 years in the past, Leo (as Ellie was then called) and Mish are celebrating Leo's 16th birthday by shoplifting at the mall and meeting up with Mish's boyfriend (who's Leo's secret crush). Mish is the heart of the story--a true friend who shouts "It's your birthday! We! Are! Celebrating!" even if "celebrating" means little more than sneaking liquor and trying to find a better place to hang out. If Ellie's adult friends could be this sincere, she might feel less alone. But something happens by the end of the Sweet 16 party that Ellie will spend the rest of her life trying to forget, and on the night of her 40th birthday, someone from her past will come back to remind her. Scandalous and bittersweet, our heroine's charmed life seems to teeter on designer stilettos as she gets closer to the truth of who she really is.

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June 24, 2019
Ellie de Florent-Stinson, the heroine of this gripping domestic thriller from de la Cruz (Witches of East End), will do anything to make sure that her 40th birthday party in her new Palm Springs, Calif., home is picture-perfect, even though her life is not. Her former actor husband may be cheating on her; her stepdaughter is home from college, bearing bad news; and Ellie is frantically trying to close a deal that might save her clothing company, and her family, from financial ruin. When Ellie receives a text from a person from her past, she’s afraid he’ll crash her party and bring down her delicate house of cards. Flashbacks detail Ellie’s desperately poor upbringing in an Oregon trailer park, especially the shocking events of her 16th birthday. As the party unfolds, Ellie realizes just how precarious her existence really is. De la Cruz expertly mixes biting satire with suspense and throws in more than a few surprises. Readers will be riveted as long simmering secrets come to light. Agent: Richard Abate, 3 Arts Entertainment.

August 1, 2019
With her clothing company poised to sell, her eldest stepchild off to Stanford, and scores of her most fabulous friends showing up at her newly purchased house in Palm Springs for her fortieth birthday, Ellie de Florent-Stinson should be on top of the world. And to the casual observer, she is, but deeper down, the cracks are beginning to show. A strained second marriage and financial struggles are just the tip of the iceberg for Ellie, who's fighting to keep up appearances as her guests begin to arrive. When an ominous text message appears to threaten everything she holds dear, Ellie flashes back to another birthday, 24 years ago?one that changed everything and set her life on its current path. In then-and-now chapters, best-selling YA and adult author de la Cruz (29 Dates, 2019) contrasts Ellie's luxe present with the dark secrets in her past. Alternating narratives and layers of unanswered questions keep the pace moving quickly, and readers interested in domestic drama with ominous undertones will be hooked.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)