{"title":"Cassie Gustafson","description":"Cassie Gustafson hails from Northern California and majored in words, earning a dual-BA in comparative literature and Spanish at the University of California, Santa Barbara, an MA in English literature at Cal State Fullerton, and an MFA in writing for young adults at Hollins University. Before finding her way to writing, she served high tea at a five-star B\u0026amp;B, tended plants in a lavender greenhouse, nannied, and taught preschool. Cassie enjoys ping-ponging around the globe with her adventurous pilot husband and their fluffy black kitty. Depending on the day, you may find her working on her next novel or toppling over in a yoga class somewhere. Cassie's work has garnered the PEN New England Susan P. Bloom Discovery Award, the Shirley Henn Creative Writing Award, and the Ruth Landers Glass Scholarship. Visit her at CassieGustafson.com.","products":[{"product_id":"after-the-ink-dries-paperback","title":"After the Ink Dries - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eCourtney Summers meets Deb Caletti in this \"all too believable\" (\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e) page-turning suspense story about a teen girl--reeling in the wake of betrayed trust--who learns what it is to face hard truths about yourself and others, and how to find strength when you need it most.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eSixteen-year-old Erica Walker is a webcomic artist who wants to fit in at her affluent new high school. Seventeen-year-old Thomas VanBrackel is an aspiring songwriter and reluctant lacrosse goalie who wants out from under his father's thumb. After their electric first kiss at Saturday's lacrosse match, Erica and Thomas both want to see where their new relationship could take them. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThe next morning, however, following a drunken house party, Erica wakes up half-clothed, and discovers words and names drawn in Sharpie in intimate places on her body--names belonging to Thomas's lacrosse friends, including the boyfriend of Erica's best friend. Devastated, Erica convinces herself Thomas wasn't involved in this horrific so-called prank...until she discovers Thomas's name on her skin, too. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eTold in alternating viewpoints, Erica seeks to uncover what happened while battling to keep evidence of her humiliation from leaking out, as Thomas grapples with his actions and who he thought he was. Woven throughout, illustrated graphic novel interstitials depict Erica's alter ego superhero, Erica Strange, whose courage just might help Erica come through to the other side.","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50544449847519,"sku":"9781534473706","price":12.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0813\/8958\/4607\/files\/xecF_79b-l9781534473706.webp?v=1783663733"},{"product_id":"the-secrets-we-keep-hardcover","title":"The Secrets We Keep - Hardcover","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"Visceral...a vital, heart-wrenching account of one teen's harrowing experience.\" --\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e (starred review)\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eIn the vein of \u003ci\u003eThe Way I Used to Be \u003c\/i\u003eand Kelly Loy Gilbert's \u003ci\u003eConviction\u003c\/i\u003e, this \"exceedingly well-written, powerful, and suspenseful\" (\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e, starred review) young adult novel follows a girl's struggle to reconcile friendship, sexual abuse, and the secrets we bury deep down inside to survive.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eHigh school freshman Emma Clark harbors a secret--a secret so vile it could implode her whole world, a secret she's managed to keep buried...until the day her best friend, Hannah, accuses Emma's father of a heinous crime. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eFollowing her father's arrest and torn between loyalty to Hannah and to her family, Emma is devastated to learn she must testify against Hannah's word in order to keep her family together. As Emma wrestles with this impossible decision, her fractured past begins to resurface piece by painful piece--causing the line to blur between her present-day reality and the dark fairy tales she writes to survive, all of which threaten to expose Emma's long-buried truths. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Secrets We Keep\u003c\/i\u003e explores the complex, powerful bonds of friendship and family, asking the difficult question: At what point does Emma's loyalty to another become a betrayal of herself? And perhaps the toughest question of all: Can Emma find the strength to finally unbury her secret?","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50545792942303,"sku":"9781665906944","price":19.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0813\/8958\/4607\/files\/jJLl6B7P929781665906944.webp?v=1783697919"}],"url":"https:\/\/blackandbarhe.com\/collections\/cassie-gustafson.oembed","provider":"Black \u0026 Barhe Bookstore","version":"1.0","type":"link"}