Praise for
The Unseemly Education of Anne Merchant
“This story will envelop you in its mysteries, surprise you with its plot twists, and keep you guessing even to the last page.”
—San Francisco Book Review
“Even when readers think they have it all figured out, Wiebe delivers a blow that will keep them energized and panting for the next installment.”
—VOYA Library Journal for Young Adults Review
“From the very first pages, I was spellbound by this deliciously dark tale of mysterious attraction, cutthroat ambition, and how far we will go to keep the ones we love.”
—AMY PLUM, international bestselling author
“She had me at the introduction of the spooky setting—the kind of stuff readers can lose themselves in. Joanna Wiebe is a fun new author to be on the lookout for!”
—WENDY HIGGINS, author of The Sweet Trilogy
“An original, breathtakingly written, and often chilling tale of what lengths people will go to for love. Joanna Wiebe has crafted a book that is unputdownable. Joanna has officially made my instant-buy list.”
—LINDSEY R. LOUCKS, author of The Grave Winner
“School grounds shrouded in mystery, beautiful student body obsessed with the race to be valedictorian, and a gorgeous, infuriating, unobtainable guy. Welcome to Cania Christy.”
—A.E. ROUGHT, author of Broken
THE
UNSEEMLY
EDUCATION
OF ANNE
MERCHANT
THE
UNSEEMLY
EDUCATION
OF ANNE
MERCHANT
By Joanna Wiebe
BenBella Books, Inc.
Dallas, Texas
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination and are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
Copyright © 2014 by Joanna Wiebe
First Trade Paper Edition 2015
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.
BenBella Books, Inc.
10300 N. Central Expressway, Suite #530 | Dallas, TX 75231
www.benbellabooks.com | Send feedback to [email protected]
First e-book edition: January 2014
ISBN: 978-1-940363-76-9
Library of Congress has cataloged the hardcover edition as follows:
Wiebe, Joanna.
The unseemly education of Anne Merchant / by Joanna Wiebe.
p. cm.
Summary: From the moment Anne Merchant arrives at Cania Christy, a boarding school for the wealthiest teens, she has questions that remain unanswered, including why everything is a competition to be valedictorian and what mysterious reward comes with that title.
ISBN 978-1-939529-32-9 (hardback) — ISBN 978-1-939529-33-6 (electronic) [1. Supernatural—Fiction. 2. Boarding schools—Fiction. 3. Schools—Fiction. 4. Wealth—Fiction. 5. Islands—Fiction.] I. Title.
PZ7.W63513Uns 2014
[Fic]—dc23
2013027277
Editing by Glenn Yeffeth
Copyediting by Debra Kirkby
Proofreading by Amy Zarkos and Michael Fedison
Front cover design by Kit Sweeney Photography & Design
Full cover design by Sarah Dombrowsky
Text design and composition by Silver Feather Design
Printed by Lake Book Manufacturing
Distributed by Perseus Distribution | www.perseusdistribution.com
To place orders through Perseus Distribution:
Tel: (800) 343-4499 | Fax: (800) 351-5073 | E-mail: [email protected]
Significant discounts for bulk sales are available. Please contact Glenn Yeffeth at [email protected] or (214) 750-3628.
CONTENTS
six | The Model UN from Hell
seven | Fire and Life
eight | The Prince
nine | Portrait of a Boy
ten | In the Dark
eleven | Cupid and Death
twelve | Consequences
thirteen | Looking Closer
fourteen | My Soul to Keep
fifteen | The Sculptor
sixteen | The Many Lives of the Girls of Cania Christy
seventeen | Death and the Maiden
eighteen | The Quick and the Dead
nineteen | The Tuition Battle
twenty | The Ice Storm
twenty-one | Ben Zin
twenty-two | Nighttime in Heaven
twenty-three | Portrait of the Artist’s Mother
twenty-four | The Epiphany