Choosing Life

What exactly is Bridget Jamieson so frantically trying to hide? Is there a stowaway buried under her skin? Or is it all a ruse? And to what end? Who's ever heard of an empathy belly anyway? Could the gossip possibly be true?

When a British teen girl, daughter of a diplomat from the upper cuffs of wealthy privilege, is unceremoniously relocated to the other side of the world yet again, she risks her longest standing friendship, the first love of her life, and potentially disappoints her parents beyond all recognition, in an effort to keep up appearances. But appearances can be deceiving.

Whilst attempting to discover if everything is truly redeemable, Bridget finds herself sandwiched between the kindhearted Philip, the first boy she ever let kiss her, and Redden, the aqua-eyed, overly confident Kiwi vying for her affections. At the same time, the reigning monarch of her new elite prep school, Lexi Crown, launches a campaign of contempt against Bridget, strangling her will to succeed. Projected perfectionism and devastatingly prescribed expectations to find tidy solutions to anything problematic in one's life riotously contends with the divinely orchestrated arrival of a guidance counselor extraordinaire's unabashed outpouring of Jesus' grace and truth and life.

However, will the elegantly beautiful Ms. Cartwright show up in time to candidly speak to an entire auditorium of Bridget's peers about a scandalous topic littering the corridors but hushed everywhere else? In this world of pressure and privilege intent on taught strings, social protocols, and personal unspoken silence, will one misstep in judgment lend itself to a choice with life-altering consequences in this nearly hidden journey of fluttery first love?

Will Ms. Cartwright convince Bridget that every life is valuable? Even her own? Or will it be too late?