In Secrets of Truth & Beauty, Dara is a former child pageant star. So, in order to introduce you to the wonderful authors and characters of the 2009 Debutantes, I am hosting a Debs Pageant on my blog.

Today I am very excited to introduce you to a character from Sarah Ockler’s 20 Boy Summer. Not only is she a fantastic author who is rightfully drawing comparisons to Sarah Dessen, but also she is the one who organized this whole Debs Blog Tour.

Character name: Frankie Perino
Age: 16
Biography: I’m main character Anna’s best friend. Since my brother Matt died last year, things have been really tough on everyone, and kind of weird between Anna and me. I’m really hoping our trip this summer will help her forget stuff and bring us closer again.

What is your talent? Definitely fashion and makeup. At least, those are the things that come easy for me, and that people expect me to be good at. I would love to sing, though no one has ever heard me. Well, just Matt, but he’s not here anymore.

What will you wear for the evening dress competition? Something tight and silver, long, flashy but not trashy, you know? I definitely need to look hot in this thing, but I don’t want to look, like, overdone.

Who is your escort? Can I pick my BFF Anna? Honestly I’m so tired of guys right now that I’d rather spend the night hanging out with my best girlfriend, even if I am in the hottest dress of the season.

And now for the interview portion . . . What’s the biggest challenge facing today’s youth?
The biggest challenge facing today’s youth is finding a way to be ourselves without fear of judgment. After my brother died, most of my friendships died, too. Everyone thought I didn’t want to talk about Matt, so they stopped asking about him, and the more I tried to find meaning in my life, the more unconnected – I mean, disconnected – I felt. It’s really hard to figure out how to be a “normal teen” when the meaning of “normal” keeps changing, and then when something crazy happens in your life, everyone seems to judge without asking. So it gets easier to live up to those judgments and bury the real you somewhere deep inside. I don’t mean to make this all about me. I see the same thing going on with all of my former friends. They’re all acting out these roles, like ways they think people want them to act, but I can see the truth in their eyes. I know how to look for it now — that look, I mean — because it’s the same one staring back at me every morning in the mirror. We’ve all got a long way to go before we can figure out how to be ourselves. Ugh. Listen to me going off. Anyway, how is this dress working out? Anna and I really know how to rock metallics, right?!

Thanks Frankie and Sarah!

If you want to find out more about Sarah, please visit her website.

To purchase her book, you can order it from Barnes & Noble, or go to your local bookstore. I asked Sarah for a bookstore recommendation, and here’s what she said:

If you’re in the Buffalo area, check out B is for Books in Orchard Park, NY. It’s an indie specializing in books for teens and kids, and Jane (the owner) is wonderful. We’re doing a Twenty Boy Summer Girls Day at the store on June 25, and I can’t wait! We’re going to make sea glass jewelry and drink lemonade and talk about books — yay! B is for Books is truly a great shop!

So shuffle off to Buffalo everyone!