By Invitation Only - Softcover

Chang, Alexandra Brown

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1665972440 ISBN 13: 9781665972444

Verlag: Margaret K. McElderry Books, 2026

Inhaltsangabe

For the first printing only! This paperback features sprayed edges while the special edition supply lasts.

An instant New York Times bestseller
“Utterly unputdownable.” —Lynn Painter, New York Times bestselling author of Better Than the Movies

A hardworking teen hoping to land a college scholarship and a nepo baby looking to prove herself collide at the world’s most high-profile debutante ball in Paris in this “beguiling, stylish” (Shelf Awareness) young adult romance perfect for fans of American Royals and Better Than the Movies.

Every year, a hand-selected group of young women travel to Paris to make their debuts into high society at La Danse des Débutantes, the most exclusive debutante ball in the world. Being wealthy, royal, or famous gets you into the pool of potential debutantes, but only La Danse decides who is truly worthy of attending.

Chapin Buckingham, the daughter of two Hollywood legends, is one of the lucky few chosen to attend. Chapin’s not usually a society girl, but she has her reasons for wanting to be crowned Debutante of the Year. Her chances seem good…until a fellow debutante creates a PR nightmare that has the eat-the-rich cohort calling for La Danse’s cancellation.

Enter Piper Woo Collins. As the daughter of an EMT and winner of the International Science Fair Prize with a profile in Teen Vogue, Piper is the perfect, down-to-earth person who could restore La Danse’s reputation. But Piper isn’t interested in becoming a debutante—until they offer her a college scholarship…if she wins Debutante of the Year.

In competition for the crown, Piper and Chapin have every reason to clash. But at La Danse, everyone wants something. Piper and Chapin might just need each other to go from pawns in a game to ruling the board…

Über diesen Titel

Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Alexandra Brown Chang grew up in Los Angeles, in a family of four daughters and four rescue dogs. She graduated from Stanford University, where she majored in art history. Alexandra is also a member of the Princess Grace Foundation Guild, which champions emerging artists in all fields. By Invitation Only is her debut novel.

Auszug. © Genehmigter Nachdruck. Alle Rechte vorbehalten.

Chapter One CHAPTER ONE
Piper

King of Prussia, Pennsylvania

I scroll through the Teen Vogue article. Wow. I sound impressive. Too bad it’s an exaggeration.

Plus: The fawning article fails to mention that I spent my entire afternoon piercing the ears of surly middle schoolers at Claire’s. Sure, biodegradable orange-peel polymers are thrilling and all, but you haven’t really lived until you’ve sliced and diced the lobes of fidgety, Snapchatting twelve-year-olds.

“Earth to Piper,” Seb says, snapping me out of my daze. I put down my phone. We’re in my living room, snacking on popcorn and watching My Best Friend’s Wedding for the millionth time. “You look more miserable than Ben Affleck at an awards show.” He points at my screen. “This is a huge deal. Teen freaking Vogue!”

I don’t want to burst his bubble. Seb is looking at me with such love and pride that even a stranger could probably tell we’ve been BFFs since middle school. So despite the fact I’ve been drowning in misery for the past day, I can’t keep this secret any longer.

“I have to tell you something not great,” I blurt out.

“You’re having Timothée Chalamet’s baby.”

“I said not great.”

He nods knowingly. “Ezra Miller’s baby.”

“I was awake till two a.m. last night tinkering with polymers while watching nineties rom-coms. Do I seem like I’m getting some celebrity strange?”

Seb laughs, and I briefly forget the pangs in my chest that have been plaguing me ever since I got the call yesterday.

“My scholarship has been revoked,” I confess. It hurts to say the words out loud. “I’m not going to Columbia.”

Seb slams his bag of Sour Patch Kids on the coffee table. Sugar flies everywhere.

“Unacceptable. You’ve been dreaming of Columbia forever. What the hell happened?”

I catch him up. “Remember how I won that huge grant that covered like sixty percent of my tuition because my research impressed somebody who owns half the planet?”

“Yeah, the microchip dude. Or, wait, was it the space-tourism guy?”

“Different billionaire. Hedge funder who funds scientific endeavors.”

“Potato, potahto. All rich people are literally interchangeable. Except Oprah. And TSwift.”

“Apparently, the university revoked his son’s fraternity charter and kicked them out of their house on 114th Street.”

“And Fratty McCanceled is your problem because…?”

“Because he was so pissed that he’s pulling all funding in protest until the current president steps down.”

Seb looks scandalized. “That’s outrageous! Like, be normal and write a strongly worded letter to the dean. Don’t punish poor kids who can’t afford it.”

I shrug, feeling despondent all over again. “I got a call from the bursar’s office yesterday. ‘Circumstances change, we extend our sincerest regrets, blah blah blah.’ The woman who called me was mortified.”

“But not mortified enough to cough up the extra 50K they promised you.”

“I guess not.”

“Does your dad know yet?”

“No.” I shake my head miserably. My dad is an EMT who pulls long shifts to give us a better life. He was so proud when I accepted Columbia’s offer. “He’s gonna be devastated.”

“Deep breaths. We can figure this out.” Seb stands up and starts pacing around the living room. As he does, I notice an alert on his phone: SCANDAL: STOREY RICCI EXPOSED! Storey’s tearful face fills his phone screen in miniature—somehow, even while crying, the world’s highest-paid teen model looks better than 99 percent of eighteen-year-olds on the planet. “There has to be some way for you to make up the difference.”

I shake my head. “Short of selling an organ on the black market, it’s not happening. First semester’s tuition is almost due.”

“So that’s it? Presto chango, college bye-bye? You’re national news for getting into every Ivy League school and now you’re just… giving up? That is not the Piper Woo Collins I know.”

I try not to feel sorry for myself. “I’m not giving up on college. I just don’t have any scholarship options left—they all disappeared after I committed to Columbia. I should have taken the full ride to Cornell.”

“But it’s not Columbia.”

“It’s not Columbia,” I affirm.

We both stare at Julia Roberts on the TV, depressed. Seb sits back down and wraps his arms around me. “I’m sorry, Pipes. You worked harder than anybody. You don’t deserve this.”

I hug him back but don’t say anything. Instead I point to the Storey Ricci headline on his phone to distract myself. “Wait, what did she do?”

Seb grabs his phone and opens the article. There’s a photo of her being led out of a Sephora in handcuffs. “Looks like… okay… wow. She stole eyeshadow? But she’s got her own makeup line!”

He mutes Julia, then clicks onto a gossip page, and we huddle over the phone together. A glossy reporter in high heels addresses the camera soberly, as if reporting from a war zone. “Since we first broke news of Storey’s arrest this morning, she’s released an apology video on Instagram. The video has created quite the stir, with over ten million likes.” Storey’s glowing face takes over the screen.

“I would like to apologize first and foremost to the House of Dior,” Storey says as a lone tear slides down her poreless cheek. “Being the face of Dior is the honor of a lifetime, and this transgression does not reflect who I am. I didn’t want to be seen buying products from a competitor, so I had a momentary lapse in judgment that I immediately regretted. I want everybody to know that I value nothing more than diversity, equity, inclusion, and a business’s right to detain shoplifters.” Storey takes a tremulous sigh, as if to center herself. “Finally, to my adoring fans, I adore you even more. Thank you for your support, and I look forward to seeing you outside the Ritz Paris for La Danse des Débutantes, where I will be happy to sign autographs. Love to you all.”

“What a bunch of useless buzzwords,” I say, tossing my phone. “Anybody who says they love DEI definitely doesn’t have any of it in their own life. She just doesn’t want to get canceled. And what’s this Danse des Débutantes thing?”

Seb gasps as if I’ve scalded him. “How are we best friends? You cannot call La Danse des Débutantes a thing. It is the primo debutante ball. It is a debutante ball on steroids. It is the ne plus ultra of debutante balls.”

“AP Latin for the win,” I joke. “Okay, it’s fancy. I get it.”

Seb clutches me by the hands. “Piper, you so do not. La Danse is a once-in-a-lifetime event. People would die to be invited. Paris! Couture! Celebrities!”

“Archaic! Elitist! Horrifying!” I shoot back.

Seb drops my hands, looking grumpy. “There’s nothing wrong with a little fashion diversion in this ongoing hellscape. Besides, La Danse is very into charity these...

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: Margaret K. McElderry Books
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2026
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 1665972440
• ISBN 13: 9781665972444
• Einband: Taschenbuch
• Anzahl der Seiten: 368
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: Nicht verfügbar
• Verantwortliche Person: Nicht verfügbar