She soon falls in with Katrina (Manic Computer. 'About this title' may belong to another edition of this title. Nicola Lancaster is spending her summer at the Siegel Institute, a hothouse of smart, intense teenagers. These characters seem to breathe in their realism, and the setting of a secluded campus, inhabited by brainy teens for a couple of months, is evoked in sensual detail.įrancisca Goldsmith, Berkeley Public Library, CAĬopyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

The strength of this novel lies in this interweaving of types of partnerings: the ones driven by desire, those driven by respect for emotional understanding, and others that teens undertake for reasons-frustratingly for Nic-that simply can't be analyzed. Ryan places Nic not only in a romantic relationship with a girl who herself is willing to explore sexuality with a girl and a boy in the same summer-school period, but also in credible friendships with an evidently straight girl and a couple of straight boys. This, rather than the gender orientation of her first serious relationship-which does unfold, collapse, and then bloom again before summer's end-is what she learns about herself. Softcover in Good Condition Nicola Lancaster is spending her summer at the Siegel Institute - a hothouse of smart, articulate, intense teenagers living like. And that is the rub with which Nic is faced in this realistically flowing plot: she thinks and analyzes everything she feels, everything others say to her, things left unsaid. On the very first day, she is attracted to another girl, but she refuses to be labeled as a lesbian because she thinks she's also attracted to boys. Nicola goes away to a summer program for gifted students, expecting to explore her interest in archaeology while also continuing her artwork. Empress of the World (Book 1 in the Battle Hall Davies Series) by Sara Ryan See Customer Reviews Select Format Hardcover 4.29 - 4.99 Paperback 4.69 - 4.79 Select Condition Like New - Very Good 4.99 Good 4.49 Acceptable 4.29 New Unavailable See All 2 Editions from 4. Grade 9 Up-Written with understanding, humor, and heart, this first novel explores a teen love relationship bounded by time, inexperience, and an enclosed community setting.

Empress of the World by Sara Ryan