Briarcliff Prep

Brianna Peppins

Fourteen-year-old Avielle LeBeau is starting her freshman year at Briarcliff Preparatory School for Girls, one of the few remaining Historically Black Boarding Schools. She has dreams of fitting in with kids who look like her, continuing her family legacy and joining the school newspaper — and she desperately wants to catch the eye of a certain sophomore math whiz who attends Preston Academy across the street. But all of these wants become obsolete when Avi discovers a devastating secret about her big sister’s boyfriend.

Avi has two choices: she can keep this secret and pray it doesn’t blow up in their faces, or she can tell the truth, risking her sister’s reputation and possibly destroying the foundation of their relationship.

BRIARCLIFF PREP is a coming-of-age story set in a space where the expectations of gender and race collide, familial responsibilities are tested, and sisterhood may be a saving grace.