Westminster Abby

Book 0: S.A.S.S.

by Micol Ostow

Genres: YA Contemporary

Synopsis

Abby has always considered herself to be a little vanilla—sweet,plain, but not very exciting. So when she finds herself flying across the ocean to London, trying to forget her problems with her cheating ex-boyfriend and her overprotective parents, she figures her semester abroad is her chance to become one big hot fudge sundae. And she isn't disappointed. London boasts a plethora of funky pubs and shops, drivers on the wrong side of the street, French fries called chips, and a very charming Brit named Ian. As Abby moves closer to the vision of her wild child self, she realizes that sometimes leaving what you know best actually brings you closer to what you best know—yourself. This S.A.S.S. (Students Across the Seven Seas) novel is one of the first two in our new study abroad fiction series. Teen girls will latch onto these books as they're enmeshed in the lives of characters just like themselves, who are experiencing new cultures, new friendships, and new worlds through study abroad!

Release date: May 5, 2005

Publisher: Speak

Print pages: 192

Sample

The whole place just seemed so . . . British.

There was no other word for it. It wasn’t exotic in the way that she imagined the Far East would be. It wasn’t idyllic like a Caribbean island. In fact, it was just as dank and gray as she’d been promised. And yet, expansive, colorless, and understated as London seemed, it was, to Abby, completely alive. She was living her Let’s Go. Or Fodor’s. Either way, it was cool as all hell. She half expected a Beefeater to come marching by.

“Are you ready, then?” Zoe slid down off of the lion and gave a final shake of her butt toward the pigeons, who responded by exploding into a frenzy of flapping wings.

“Yeah, um, will you just take my picture? In front of the lions?” Abby asked, handing her digital camera over. “You just have to press that button.”

“Sure thing, sister. Closer to the right. Not that close,” Zoe commanded, waving. “Cool. I want to get some pigeons into the frame.”

“You scared them all away with your disco trip,” Abby pointed out.

“Well, sure, if you’re going to be all nitpicky about it. Okay, this is it. You look bee-yoo-ti-ful. Smile.”

She put the camera down and placed her hand on her hip in frustration. “Excuse me, but do you have some form of clinical depression? Seasonal Affective Disorder, or something? Because where I come from, that’s not a smile, that’s indigestion.”

Abby burst out laughing.

“Yes, much better.” Zoe raised the camera again. “Now say . . .” A smile of her own spreading across her face. “Say ‘Westminster’ Abby!”

“Westminster Abby!”