At Pine Grove Academy Harper Price is a legend. As a high school junior she is the first junior to ever be student body president; head cheerleader; Homecoming Queen; member of the Future Business Leaders of America, Committee for Academic Honesty, and Key Club; and Chairperson for Pine Grove's Annual Christmas Bake Sale. To top it off Harper is dating Ryan Bradshaw - the perfect boyfriend, and has a key role in this year's Cotillion. And, until the night of the Homecoming Dance, she has little trouble balancing her demanding life and maintaining a running feud wiht David Stark since Kindergarten.
Due to a quirk of wardrobe, Harper finds herself in the girls' bathroom when the school janitor rushes in, dying from a wound to the abdomen. He passes a strange sort of power to Harper, who then must defend hersefl from her history teacher when he attempts to murder her. harper uses her stilleto shoe to kill the teacher adn escape. When she flees she runs into the last person she wanted to see: David.
When an article on Harper's post-murder breakdown runs in the school paper Monday morning she knows David is to blame. In confronting him, Harper discovers her new superpowers don't allow her to harm David, or allow anyone else to. This complicates things when Ryan tries to defend Harper's honor and she flips her boyfriend over her shoulder.
Life continues to complicate as Harper learns what her new superpowers make her--a Paladin: superhuman Protector of the Oracle. Small problem; David Stark is the Oracle. Harper is the only thing standing between David and attempts to either murder or imprison him. Harper and David team up, much to the confusion of all Pine Grove. The closer time ticks to Cotillion the more danger Harper feels.
When the duo discover a sorcersess who tries to bring David to fight against Delphi (the home of the Oracle) and the order who manage the Oracle's magic Harper finds there is more to being a paladin than has ever been explained to her.
Going from the girl who has everythign under control and can control anything to the girl at the center of a whirlpool with no control over her own body, let alone her circumstances, nearly drives Harper to the edge. She and David try to grasp what their new relationship means and try to keep themselves alive long enough to reach Senior Year. Mythology and magic blend with small-town charm to create a story of friendship and growth suitable for young teen readers and adults alike.
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