Alex is beautiful, popular and has a great boyfriend, but she is empty. An embarrassing episode at work has left her unable to leave the house, hang with her friends or eat. Her younger sister, Thea also has everything, thanks to their wealthy step-father. Thea’s compulsive lying keeps her at the centre of attention. But Thea wants more, including Alex’s boyfriend. Will the sisters’ previously tight bond survive? Focusing on the psychological problems of Alex and Thea, Griffin weaves a tale of self-destruction. Told in alternating chapters, this character-driven novel examines the girls’ quest to find what money cannot buy. Fans of Melissa De La Cruz and Lois Lowry will find this novel difficult to put down. Written by PGH

When your dad abandons you in your tweens and it leaves your mom so poor that you live without electricity for a month, you dream that a rich man will come along and sweep her off her feet and move you all to Camelot, right? Well that’s what happened to Alex and Thea Parrott. Literally. They now live in a gated community in a house called Camelot. It’s so massive and luxurious that it’s the envy (or spite) of all their friends. They now drive flashy BMW’s and can afford anything they could ever dream of thanks to their new step-dad Arthur. In fact, Arthur buys Alex an internship in the fashion world at Haute, but disaster strikes, and gorgeous popular high school senior Alex is no longer the same, having panic attacks that literally leave her stuck somewhere all over town. Sometimes she can’t even manage to leave the house. Then there’s Thea, a junior in high school, a less beautiful and popular version of Alex trying to shed her nerdy image and aiming for the A-list table at lunch. She’s the little sister wannabe that covets everything that belongs to Alex, including the hot boyfriend Joshua. Thea has no problem whatsoever lying and manipulating to steal her sister’s life while Alex struggles through her psychological issues. So while mom is always away traveling and playing the role of trophy wife to her new rich husband, chaos reigns in Camelot, and the two sisters are desperately trying to figure out who they really are and what really matters that money can’t buy. Reviewed by DH

Toxic sister relationship well told.