The Perfect Candidate

August 15, 2018
During a summer internship, a teenage boy is thrust into the middle of a murderous political game in Stone's thriller debut.Cameron Carter is in serious trouble. He was thrilled when a summer internship in his congressman's office, the opportunity of lifetime, landed in his lap. He makes friends with fellow interns, impresses several staffers, and even sparks a relationship with Lena Cruz, the adventurous daughter of the Mexican ambassador. But when Ariel, a staffer who had taken Cameron under her wing and asked for his help on a secret project, dies suddenly in a car crash, fissures of doubt around her death begin to break apart the shiny facade of the capital and the congressman himself. Character development takes a back seat to an enthralling plot of power, greed, and murder that threatens to swallow its protagonist whole. Cameron is something of an Everyman--a white teen in a very white Washington, D.C., he is YA's answer to Harrison Ford--but his dogged (even reckless) proclivity for pursuing questions and some complexity with regard to his supposedly deceased mother keep readers from losing him in the high-octane plot. Some artless setup for a sequel may detract from the narrative's overall punch, but readers can't help but wonder what will come next.While not pushing the genre into new territory, Stone has crafted a narrative driven by that most potent of fuels: political intrigue. (Political thriller. 14-17)

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September 3, 2018
Cameron Carter, a recent high school graduate from Lagrima, Calif., is starting his dream job as a summer intern for his local congressman. Though younger than the other interns, Cameron quickly catches the eye of Ariel Lancaster, a staff member and intern coordinator who begins to mentor him. When Ariel asks for Cameron’s help with a special project, he feels destined for greatness. But then Ariel is killed in what seems to be a drunk driving accident, and after someone who could be FBI approaches Cameron, he realizes that he may not be ready for a conspiracy-laden Washington, D.C., life. Debut novelist Stone, a former Capitol Hill staffer, imbues this political thriller with an insider’s peek into the lives of Washington’s interns, from scenes of reception-jumping for the free food to a list of the “50 hottest staffers on Capitol Hill.” This authenticity grounds the story, allowing readers to suspend disbelief that an 18-year-old intern could so quickly end up working as a spy. Stone has created a YA version of the TV show Scandal, and it is just as addictive. Ages 12–up. Agent: Rachel Kim and Richard Abate, 3 Arts Entertainment.