Nora took Hollis aside and explained that Jameson had never allowed anyone to sit next to him in his boat. Everyone in the castle was staring at her. The next day, Jameson sent her flowers and Hollis went to thank him. She accidentally fell into the river and Jameson pulled her back in, laughing at her silliness. She threw a berry at one of them, Nora, and started a food fight.

Hollis noticed that all the other girls of court were jealous of her and giving her mean looks. Jameson invited Hollis to take a ride on his boat with a large party of their friends. Hollis’s parents wished she had been a boy and were constantly belittling her and attempting to make her act more like a proper lady. Everyone at court looked down on Delia, but Hollis loved her like a sister. This brought great shame to the whole family because in Coroa there were very strict laws and standards for marriage. He had filed for divorce by claiming that Delia was a bastard before running off and eloping with another woman. Delia’s father had left her mother when she was eight. Delia disagreed and wanted Hollis to take her chance with the king seriously. Hollis had recently attracted the attention of King Jameson, but she assumed she was just a passing fancy because Jameson was a bit of a womanizer. The two ladies lived at Keresken Castle in the capital city, Tobbar, of the country Coroa. The novel begins with the teenage narrator, Hollis Brite, in her room with her best friend, Delia Grace. The following version of this book was used to create this study guide: Cass, Kierra.

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