Down to the Bone

When Shai receives text messages from Marlena, the love of her life, and reads them during class, her dramatic mother finds out what her A-student daughter's been doing behind her back and kicks her to the curb.

Soon Shai becomes involved with an unusual group of friends in exotic Miami. Can a discarded free-thinker turn the corner into a world as wild, hilarious, and painful as her first love--and create a new kind of family?

Bella Books is proud to bring the expanded Author's Edition of this best-selling Young Adult classic to print.

Booklist *Starred Review*

Sun-filled wonderland of friends, choices, broken hearts, honesty, family and love. - Alex Sanchez, Rainbow Boys

Originally published by Harper Teen.

Mayra Lazara Dole loves papayas (slang for you-know-what but she’s honestly talking about the fruit), pineapples, finger bananas and long, cascading hair. She was born in Havana and raised in exotic Miami. The author was kicked out of an all-girl private school at thirteen due to a sizzling confiscated love note written to her by her girlfriend about their first time. She worked as a librarian assistant, ESL tutor, and landscape designer until she became a full-time writer. Mayra lives in Miami with her beloved partner (aka: Astro Maniac)--she’s obsessed with astronomy, astrology and the occult and drives Mayra nuts! Dole started her writing career with picture books depicting two rebel eight-year-old girls (for sure they’ll be MAJOR lesbos when they grow up), and the first Cuban American critically acclaimed lesbian YA novel in history. She’s written essays, short stories and poetry for literary and lesbian magazines and for Hunger Mountain--the Vermont College Fine Arts journal of the arts. Mayra’s magical realism short story, Inside the Inside (CORNERED anthology / Running Press) and Run for your Life! (THE LETTER Q anthology / Scholastic) will also be published in 2012. Oh, and she’s been a Lambda literary YA judge, something she loves and is very proud of.