**Ben**: Having just graduated from high school, Ben is set to leave Gypsum, Nevada. It's good timing since the gypsum mine that is the lifeblood of the area is closing, shutting the whole town down with it. Ben is lucky: he's headed to San Diego, where he's got a track scholarship at the University of California. But his best friends, Pete and Hog Boy, don't have college to look forward to, so to make them happy, Ben goes with them to check out the hot chick parked on the side of Highway 447.
**Lala**: She and her Gypsy family earn money by telling fortunes. Some customers choose Tarot cards; others have their palms read. The thousands of people attending the nearby Burning Man festival spend lots of cash--especially as Lala gives uncanny readings. But lately Lala's been questioning whether there might be more to life than her upcoming arranged marriage. And the day she reads Ben's cards is the day that everything changes for her. . . and for him.
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### From Booklist
Ben is college-bound, which is unusual in his town, which is literally shutting down, now that the company that owns it is closing the gypsum mine. Lala is a Roma girl, whose family has come to the desert (near Ben’s home, outside the Burning Man festival) to earn money fortune-telling. When Lala tells Ben’s fortune, something breaks open for both of them. Telling the story in alternating voices, they must decide if the paths they are on—college and arranged marriage—are what they want (or must do). Though Ben seems more real than Lala, whose stiltedly accented voice is a distraction, readers will definitely be caught up in their romance. The relationship is decided at the Burning Man festival, and readers will be unsure which way it will go till the very end. Grades 9-12. --Ilene Cooper
### Review
**Kirkus Reviews****, May 1, 2013:**
"Lyrical and inspirational."
**School Library Journal Teen****, May 1, 2013:**
"No doubt, a great, unexpected ending."
Description:
**Ben**: Having just graduated from high school, Ben is set to leave Gypsum, Nevada. It's good timing since the gypsum mine that is the lifeblood of the area is closing, shutting the whole town down with it. Ben is lucky: he's headed to San Diego, where he's got a track scholarship at the University of California. But his best friends, Pete and Hog Boy, don't have college to look forward to, so to make them happy, Ben goes with them to check out the hot chick parked on the side of Highway 447. **Lala**: She and her Gypsy family earn money by telling fortunes. Some customers choose Tarot cards; others have their palms read. The thousands of people attending the nearby Burning Man festival spend lots of cash--especially as Lala gives uncanny readings. But lately Lala's been questioning whether there might be more to life than her upcoming arranged marriage. And the day she reads Ben's cards is the day that everything changes for her. . . and for him. ** ### From Booklist Ben is college-bound, which is unusual in his town, which is literally shutting down, now that the company that owns it is closing the gypsum mine. Lala is a Roma girl, whose family has come to the desert (near Ben’s home, outside the Burning Man festival) to earn money fortune-telling. When Lala tells Ben’s fortune, something breaks open for both of them. Telling the story in alternating voices, they must decide if the paths they are on—college and arranged marriage—are what they want (or must do). Though Ben seems more real than Lala, whose stiltedly accented voice is a distraction, readers will definitely be caught up in their romance. The relationship is decided at the Burning Man festival, and readers will be unsure which way it will go till the very end. Grades 9-12. --Ilene Cooper ### Review **Kirkus Reviews****, May 1, 2013:** "Lyrical and inspirational." **School Library Journal Teen****, May 1, 2013:** "No doubt, a great, unexpected ending."