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Chronically Dolores

Chronically Dolores

by Maya Van Wagenen

Maya Van Wagenen, bestselling author of Popular, tells Dolores’s story with humor, heartache, and an occasional bit of telenovela flair.

“A striking fiction debut.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review
“An insightful, funny, and realistic coming-of-age story.” —Kirkus


Dolores Mendoza is not thriving. She was recently diagnosed with a chronic bladder condition called interstitial cystitis. The painful disease isn’t life-threatening, but it is threatening to ruin her life.

Just when things seem hopeless, Dolores meets someone poised to change her fate. Terpsichore Berkenbosch-Jones is glamorous, autistic, and homeschooled against her will by her overprotective mother. After a rocky start, the girls form a tentative partnership. Beautiful, talented Terpsichore will help Dolores win back her ex–best friend, Shae. And Dolores will convince Terpsichore’s mom that her daughter has the social skills to survive public school. It seems like a foolproof plan, but Dolores isn’t always a reliable narrator, and her choices may put her in danger of committing an unforgivable betrayal.

Praise for Chronically Dolores
A NYPL Best Book of the Year

Van Wagenen’s fiction debut is a standout with both wide appeal and important, specific representation bolstered by the author’s own life.” —Booklist, starred review
 
“Compassionate prose conveys the protagonists’ experiences with care and thoughtful, complex characterizations approachably highlight life’s ambiguity.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review
 
“An insightful, funny, and realistic coming-of-age story.” —Kirkus


Praise for Maya Van Wagenen's Popular

YALSA Award Winner for Excellence in Nonfiction
New York Times Bestseller

“I was inspired by her journey.... Maybe if I had read Popular when I was [Van Wagenen's] age, it could have saved me from a world of hurt, or at least put that world in perspective.” —Maude Apatow for the New York Times Book Review

“Everyone’s happiness project looks different, and I was utterly charmed by Maya Van Wagenen’s honest, funny, and thought-provoking account of her efforts to become ‘popular.’” —Gretchen Rubin, #1 bestselling author of The Happiness Project

  • Pages: 320 Pages
  • Publisher: Penguin Young Readers Group
  • Imprint: Dutton Books for Young Readers
  • ISBN: 9780525426820
Penguin Teen