My lips are white. Sixteen-year-old Sep stares into the bathroom mirror on the first day of school. It’s not some weird lipstick (she never wears lipstick), she didn’t bump her lips or chew on ice. Her lips are just–white. In a panic, she digs up an old lipstick and smears it on her colorless lips. But soon, more and more white spots begin to bloom, spreading their chalky tendrils across her olive brown skin. Does she have a disease? Is she turning into some kind of freak? Sep is usually the one who knows all the answers. With a quicksilver mind and a supple body, she’s happiest when she’s delving into the mysteries of animal biology or giving herself over to sweet, hot moves in Jazz Dance Club. Unlike her best friend, Devon, she’s never been in a rush to get a boyfriend. But as the white blotches spread, her dating days–like the endangered species she studies–seem numbered. So when Josh, a boy she’s always liked, makes a flirty advance, she wonders: why not grab pleasure while she can? Frank, funny, and full of passion, this compelling novel tells the empowering story of a strong, gifted teen who, as her life spins out of control, desperately tries to prove to the world–and herself–that she is deeper than skin.
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### From Publishers Weekly
Sixteen-year-old Sep is alarmed when her lips suddenly turn white, forcing her to pull out some long-buried pink lipstick to disguise them. Just as unexpectedly, Sep starts getting the attention of popular football captain Joshua, a former childhood friend, and learns that she has vitiligo, a disorder that will turn patches of her olive skin white. As Sep’s vitiligo and her relationship with Joshua quickly progress, she decides to keep her condition hidden through brightly colored lipstick, hand-drawn tattoos, and creative fashion statements. Readers will empathize with Sep’s growing panic and inner turmoil as Napoli (*Lights on the Nile*) deftly maneuvers them through this rare disease’s effect on a teenage psyche. However, Sep’s rapid intimacy with Joshua, including a graphically erotic sex scene, feels at odds with her lack of trust in how he will react to her vitiligo. Although there are dark moments as Sep faces who she is and what she looks like, her rebound at the end, after a hastily cobbled-together “coming out,” is abrupt. —*Publishers Weekly* June 2013
### From School Library Journal
Sixteen-year-old Sep wakes up for her first day of school and discovers that her lips are white. There is no explanation for this sudden lack of pigment so she finds some old lipstick to cover it up. She has developed vitiligo, a condition in which white patches form on the skin. It starts with her lips but is spreading rapidly, and she begins finding spots on other parts of her body. She is appalled and frustrated by what is happening to her and decides that the only thing to do is to hide it from everyone, including her best friend. This change happens at the worst possible time because the captain of the football team has just taken an interest in her. At times, Sep’s moods and actions can be frustrating, but she is going through a lot and teens will relate to her feelings of betrayal toward her body. Nahornpoli captures the stresses of adolescence in a fresh, believable way. Readers will watch Sep grow from an angry and at times selfish girl into a strong and confident woman. There is a romance involved, but it is not the story. This is truly a novel about personal growth and the power of loving and believing in yourself. Great for general purchase, but there are some descriptive sexual scenes.– Kristyn Dorfman, *School Library Journal *August 2013
Description:
My lips are white. Sixteen-year-old Sep stares into the bathroom mirror on the first day of school. It’s not some weird lipstick (she never wears lipstick), she didn’t bump her lips or chew on ice. Her lips are just–white. In a panic, she digs up an old lipstick and smears it on her colorless lips. But soon, more and more white spots begin to bloom, spreading their chalky tendrils across her olive brown skin. Does she have a disease? Is she turning into some kind of freak? Sep is usually the one who knows all the answers. With a quicksilver mind and a supple body, she’s happiest when she’s delving into the mysteries of animal biology or giving herself over to sweet, hot moves in Jazz Dance Club. Unlike her best friend, Devon, she’s never been in a rush to get a boyfriend. But as the white blotches spread, her dating days–like the endangered species she studies–seem numbered. So when Josh, a boy she’s always liked, makes a flirty advance, she wonders: why not grab pleasure while she can? Frank, funny, and full of passion, this compelling novel tells the empowering story of a strong, gifted teen who, as her life spins out of control, desperately tries to prove to the world–and herself–that she is deeper than skin. ** ### From Publishers Weekly Sixteen-year-old Sep is alarmed when her lips suddenly turn white, forcing her to pull out some long-buried pink lipstick to disguise them. Just as unexpectedly, Sep starts getting the attention of popular football captain Joshua, a former childhood friend, and learns that she has vitiligo, a disorder that will turn patches of her olive skin white. As Sep’s vitiligo and her relationship with Joshua quickly progress, she decides to keep her condition hidden through brightly colored lipstick, hand-drawn tattoos, and creative fashion statements. Readers will empathize with Sep’s growing panic and inner turmoil as Napoli (*Lights on the Nile*) deftly maneuvers them through this rare disease’s effect on a teenage psyche. However, Sep’s rapid intimacy with Joshua, including a graphically erotic sex scene, feels at odds with her lack of trust in how he will react to her vitiligo. Although there are dark moments as Sep faces who she is and what she looks like, her rebound at the end, after a hastily cobbled-together “coming out,” is abrupt. —*Publishers Weekly* June 2013 ### From School Library Journal Sixteen-year-old Sep wakes up for her first day of school and discovers that her lips are white. There is no explanation for this sudden lack of pigment so she finds some old lipstick to cover it up. She has developed vitiligo, a condition in which white patches form on the skin. It starts with her lips but is spreading rapidly, and she begins finding spots on other parts of her body. She is appalled and frustrated by what is happening to her and decides that the only thing to do is to hide it from everyone, including her best friend. This change happens at the worst possible time because the captain of the football team has just taken an interest in her. At times, Sep’s moods and actions can be frustrating, but she is going through a lot and teens will relate to her feelings of betrayal toward her body. Nahornpoli captures the stresses of adolescence in a fresh, believable way. Readers will watch Sep grow from an angry and at times selfish girl into a strong and confident woman. There is a romance involved, but it is not the story. This is truly a novel about personal growth and the power of loving and believing in yourself. Great for general purchase, but there are some descriptive sexual scenes.– Kristyn Dorfman, *School Library Journal *August 2013