Doreen

When Doreen Gray walks in the vaulted doorway of elite Chandler Academy, she is a sad, disastrous mess of acne, frizzy hair, and low self-esteem. Social climber turned queen bee Heidi Whelan knows right away that she has found her new protege, while Heidi’s old-monied roommate Biz Gibbons-Brown takes a picture of Doreen and works her Photoshop magic to create a stunning profile pic.
None of the three girls expect Doreen to wake up the next morning the embodiment of the glossy, digital makeover, least of all Doreen. In order to maintain her sleek facade, Doreen has to hide her real self and the only hardcopy of the original photo Biz took, which begins to rapidly and disturbingly deteriorate. All the while, Heidi’s master plan must morph into a different shape.
Out with the men of nineteenth century London and in with the girls of twenty-first century New England,Doreen is a sharp and scandal-filled YA retelling of Oscar Wilde’s classicThe Picture of Dorian Gray.

Ilana Manaster has an MFA in fiction and translation from Columbia University, where she also taught in the Undergraduate Writing Program. She volunteered as a mentor to young writers through Girls Write Now and has performed her own writing in a one-woman show in the Fringe Festival as a stand-up comedian. Doreen is her debut novel. Ilana currently lives in Portugal with her husband and son. You can follow her via Twitter @ilanamanaster.