Hal was completely entranced by Amanda from the moment she set foot in Endeavor, and she shook his world view to its core, re-coloring the way he looked at everything. The guides continue to make surprising discoveries as they sleuth into recent alarming developments at school, Amanda's true identity, and her reasons for coming to Orion. They come to realize that Amanda may have disappeared physically, but she is definitely still sending beacons and clues so that they can uncover the larger mystery of which she is a part . . . does an intricate, carved box belonging to Amanda hold the key to everything?

When enigmatic freshman Amanda Valentino arrived at Endeavor High, she chose three people - Callie, Hal, and Nia - to guide her through the choppy waters of her new school. Except she didn't tell them about each other. When Amanda leaves, the three must reluctantly work together to figure out why. But once they start piecing together the cryptic clues that Amanda herself is leaving for them, they realize that everything they thought they knew about her is false. The more they dig, the mystery of where - and who - Amanda is deepens.

[NOTE: This book was written in 2010, a time of long-distance phone cards, weight-loss obsessions, and searching for a man as a solution to life's problems-what a messy time to be alive! In other words, I hope you enjoy this throwback, and while this book does end on a cliffhanger of sorts, the sequel addresses any unanswered questions (which is hopefully fair, given that book 1 is free, ya know?] An awkward family homecoming at Christmas. A humiliating public weigh-in, with two judging parents as the audience. The announcement of a deadline for arranged marriage doom. And that's just the first two chapters. In "Year of the Chick," Romi Narindra must find love before her parents find her a husband. Easy to say, less easy to live through, as this book takes you deep inside "awkward Indian living in the West." To escape her fate, Romi wades through the waters of secret-dating, where self-consciousness is at an all-time high, and experience at an all-time low. It's the sort of thing that would turn almost anyone into a man-crazy freak with romance tunnel-vision, and that's exactly what ends up happening. All the while, a lack of inspiration in her corporate job leads Romi to her love of writing, in what quickly becomes a man-quest play-by-play. From whiskey-breath scum bags to uni-brow creeps and everything in between, Romi and her wingmen come up empty time after time. And that's when she meets a fellow writer. On the Internet. So will it be arranged marriage doom, or an Internet affair that's not as creepy as "To Catch a Predator"? Time will tell in the "year of the chick," a twelve-month quest to find love. Tick-tock. --------------------------------------------- "Year of the Chick" is book one of a series, and book two is available at Amazon! LENGTH: 75,000 words or 285 pages DISCLAIMER: this book contains profanities, blunt accounts of the dating scene, and many awkward family moments. Enjoy!