The Bad Boyfriend Curse($20.99Value)

Description

From Farah Heron, the critically acclaimed author of adult rom-com Accidentally Engaged , comes a story about a goody-two-shoes teen who concocts a brilliant plan to fake-date the local bad boy to rebel against her mom. Meera Noorani has spent her whole life playing it safe. Raised by her single mom, she’s had to—especially in love. After all, it has been proven, generation after generation, that all Noorani women are cursed to have partners who ruin their lives. And though she tried her best to avoid it, Meera’s fate comes a-calling, and within the span of a week, she’s broken up with, arrested, and then shipped to small-town Canada, where she’ll be completing her community service under the watchful eye of her mom and her new stepdad. Meera’s spent her whole life being good, and this is the thanks she gets? If she can pose a threat to Mom’s perfect new life, though, maybe she can get back to the city. And there’s no better way to do that than date one of her fellow teen delinquents. Noah has got the piercings, tattoos, and rumors to prove that he’s the town’s most infamous bad boy…but when the bad boy isn't actually bad, what’s a girl meant to do? Praise for The Bad Boyfriend Curse “A nuanced, socially aware novel that finds its power in the depth of its relationships and representation.” — Kirkus Reviews Farah Heron is the critically acclaimed author of romantic comedies for adults and young adults filled with huge South Asian families, delectable food, and, most importantly, brown people falling stupidly in love. She lives in Toronto with her husband and two teens, plus two cats who rule the house. Please visit FarahHeron.com for more information. Chapter One: The Predictable End to Meera the Good Girl CHAPTER ONE The Predictable End to Meera the Good Girl No one, no matter how hard they work at it, or how much they want to, can ever—and I mean ever —escape their fate. And, apparently, my fate is to be cursed for eternity. My eyes blur as I sit alone in the back of a police cruiser, watching a cop put literal handcuffs onto the wrists of my date, Gabe. Not even an hour after my first kiss with him—my first kiss ever. My grandmother—Nani—has been warning me my whole life about the curse placed on our family four generations ago by a witch doctor in India. Should a girl in Nani’s bloodline choose to romantically involve herself with a boy before her seventeenth birthday, the girl becomes destined for trouble that will haunt her for her entire life. Mom and Nani gave me a list of rules to follow so the curse wouldn’t ruin me: put my education first, never lie to my family, associate only with people with the same values as me (i.e., high achievers), and most important, don’t date at all until my seventeenth birthday. If I followed the rules, I would be unharmed by the curse and would be the first girl in my family to go to university. I would be the first to be able to live the life that I wanted to live. Of course, I followed the rules with precision—my life goals are way too important for me to risk ruining them. So, on my seventeenth birthday, when Gabe Bautista, the smartest guy in my grade, asked if I wanted to go for a walk on the weekend, I said yes. I was seventeen—it would be fine. I was tired of being the only one of my friends who’d never been on a date, and I wanted a little escape from worrying about year-end school projects and Mom’s wedding. But to be extra careful I did a ton of research and made an epic avoid-curse spreadsheet, listing methods from around the world of how to stay safe from curses. I zeroed in on methods that are used in South Asian cultures, since this curse started in India, and on the ones that are most practical. (Like, I didn’t think it was a great idea to kill a descendant of the man who cursed my family.) Before my date I ordered a protection talisman online—a black tourmaline bead necklace with an evil-eye amulet on it—then took a bath in salt water and burned a candle while repeating some mantras. I did everything right. But on my date, with only one kiss under my belt, I was arrested because of some stupid social media stunt Gabe pulled at a carnival. It turns out that costume jewelry, salt water baths, and waiting until my seventeenth birthday were useless. There was nothing I could have done to escape my fate. This curse has ruined the life of every woman and girl in my family for four generations… Why would it spare me? All the work I did to escape it failed . I wipe the tear on my cheek with the back of my hand. A back seat door opens, making me flinch, and a woman slides into the car next to me. “I’m Officer Martel,” she says. She’s not in a uniform but in black dress pants and a dark blue collared shirt. She eyes me suspiciously. “How are you doing, kid?” I’m upset, embarrassed, and angry at Gabe. Mostly I’m furious at the curse. But I don’t say that. I shrug. “Okay, so your full name is…” “Meera Parvee