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Palm Desert High: A Novel

When Timberly Godfrey arrives in Palm Desert in June of 1987 to spend the summer with her newly-sober mother, she has no idea just how liberating the change of scenery would prove to be. For the first time in her fourteen years she feels a sense of peace and joy. 

Her noxious eighth grade year living next to the freeway in Redlands with her abusive father was one betrayal after another. Reuniting with her beloved mother in the desert oasis is like being let out of jail into paradise; everything the teen ever dreamed of and more. When August finally comes, Timberly can't bear returning to her previous life, so she and Katie move into a two bedroom apartment together on Alessandro Drive.

But shortly after enrolling in Palm Desert High, a brand new school just up the road, the disappearance of two local girls rocks the wealthy community and ignites an obsession with mysteries in the anxious freshman that grows stronger with each passing semester. Then, during her sophomore year in Ms. Wollenberg's theater class, Timberly meets Victoria Montano - a kindred spirit and recent transplant from Pacific Palisades who shares her love of performance and many of her more macabre proclivities. 

The teens quickly become inseparable and spend many a weekend at a cemetery on the outskirts of Indio where scantily-clad photo shoots often precede tarot and palm readings. Readings, that hit a little too close to home for young Timberly. The innocent fun takes a dark turn when disturbing future scenes Victoria foresees in her friend's hand become Timberly's new obsession. And when the fate of the missing coeds from freshman year finally comes to light, a drive up California State Highway 74 on New Year's Day brings all the pieces together.

           


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