The Good Girl's Guide to Getting Kidnapped »

Yxta Maya Murray is the author of five other novels. She is a professor at Loyola Law School and currently lives in Studio City, California.

Kiki and Mish are best friends, but what Kiki doesn't know is that Michelle Pena was born a gang princess. “Princess P” grew up destined to inherit leadership of the Snakes: a future filled with crime and fear.

Michelle, on the other hand, is a nationally ranked athlete and academic superstar. This is her new life, and she's finally put her past—and her childhood love for Silver—to rest.

Then Silver helps kidnap both girls, and Michelle has to figure out how to free them both—and reconnect with a future that might now be beyond her reach.

Publishers Weekly

Fifteen-year-old Michelle Peña is a good student and track star, living with her gay foster father. She has her sights set on a scholarship to a prestigious prep school, but is dogged by her past. She’s the offspring of gang leader parents in East L.A., and her brother, Samson, former “King” of the Snake Brothers gang, is in jail, as is their mother. Caught between two worlds, Michelle often asks herself, “Who was I anyway? The girl I was making up in my head? Track star, Ivy League–bound? Golden Child? Or... the girl I was born?” The gang’s new king has a debt to settle with Samson, who owes him drug money, resulting in the kidnapping of Michelle and her best friend. In the process, Michelle is reunited with her childhood love, Silver, and they both struggle over whether to be loyal to their gang families or break free. Adult author Murray’s YA debut is action-packed, as it raises relevant questions of identity and loyalty. This fast-paced story, heavy with street dialogue and slang, should have ample teen appeal. Ages 14–up. (Jan.)