Simon Says
Elaine Marie Alphin announces that Harcourt has just published her young adult novel, SIMON SAYS. It tells the story of sixteen-year-old Charles Weston, who longs to avoid playing the game of Simon Says. A gifted artist, he knows he must find a way to live his life on his own terms or risk losing his identity. As he attempts to resist the demands of his parents, teachers, and classmates, Charles closes himself off from others-seeking truth but finding himself shunned and bitterly alone.
Charles believes there is one person who can show him how to escape the game. One person who sees the game clearly and rises above it. And Charles will do what he must to meet that person and get the answer he seeks. But in his effort to find a way to be true to himself, Charles becomes caught in a tragic game of Simon Says that will ultimately leave one student dead.
Michael Cart, Booklist columnist and YALSA Past President, describes the novel: "The childhood game of 'Simon Says' assumes new meaning in this fiercely intelligent novel about two talented teens' struggle to stay true to themselves AND to their art. Elaine Alphin's challenging novel about the cost of nonconformity is at once heartbreaking and hopeful."