A WORK OF ART

When confronted with a devastating reality, one girl reaches deep into her own art to surround herself with both truth and beauty.

After Tera Waters' father is arrested for possession of child pornography, the only thing she can focus on is helping him prove the whole thing a mistake. She uses the money that was meant to send her to a famous art school in Paris to pay a lawyer's retainer, despite her mother's conviction that her father is guilty. After getting a job waiting tables, she meets Joey, a cool-looking guy who works in the kitchen. When Joey asks her out, it seems like her luck might be changing, but she can't shake the feeling that his motives might be less than honorable. With all the people in her life proving to be disappointments, she can trust only her own painting, but maybe even that won't be enough. Maysonet's debut novel places Tera’s inner monologue in sharp relief against the trauma of a dysfunctional relationship. Her prose is unflinching as it illuminates one girl's traumatic experience with deeply felt compassion and brutal honesty, inviting readers into a very dark place that nonetheless has edges gilded with resilience and hope.

An important book about endings, beginnings and the choice to move on.