Debut Novel Exposes Real-Life Consequences for Teens

NEW YORK, July 16, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Simon & Schuster has released a new Young Adult novel that probes the passions, pressures, and complex problems teenagers face today. The novel, AFTER THE INK DRIES, written by Cassie Gustafson, centers on Erica Walker, a 16-year-old girl, who drank too much at a high school party and passed out. The next morning, she awakens to find she's only half clothed and lying in a strange bed. Her body is covered with obscene remarks, images, and her classmates' names inscribed on her skin in Sharpie, even in her most intimate areas.

Included among the names is that of Thomas, Erica's new boyfriend, with whom she shared an electric first kiss only the night before. This pivotal moment, however, appears to have marked both the beginning and the end of their promising young relationship.

Actions have consequences, or so Thomas soon discovers as he witnesses Erica's attempt to navigate a return to their high school despite everyone knowing what happened "that night." The ensuing whisper campaign and victim-shaming prove to be both ruthless and excruciating.

And as her humiliation mounts, Erica is forced to confront hard truths about the people she held most dear, even as she searches for the strength and hope she'll need to survive.

Critical reviews have been glowing. Of the novel, Publishers Weekly said: "Gustafson's debut doesn't pull punches; [T]his all-too-believable book will open eyes and start conversations about sexual assault, toxic masculinity, and victim shaming."

AFTER THE INK DRIES is available now nationwide. Illustrated. 399 pages. Simon & Schuster BYFR. $19.99.

SOURCE Cassie Gustafson