Exposure

“Peet’s prose is both lyrical and unflinching. . . . A bold exploration of ageless themes of power, fame, love, and trust, all seen through the deceptive lens of modern celebrity culture.” — Booklist

When a black South American soccer star signs on to a team in the country’s racist south, headlines blare. And when he falls for Desmerelda, a stunning white pop singer, their controversial marriage propels them into the media spotlight. But celebrity attracts enemies—some very close to home. And its dazzle reaches the city’s hidden corners, exposing a life of desperation the glitterati could never imagine. When a girl is found murdered, reporter Paul Faustino witnesses the power of the media in making and breaking lives. Inspired by Shakespeare’s Othello, this modern tragedy is an enthralling work of crossover fiction.Peet spins a great story, with devilishly well-plotted connections among the characters, a deliciously evil villain in Diego Mendosa, and an unforgiving examination of the cult of celebrity.
—Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

Successfully blends sports writing with crime fiction to explore not only race and class divisions in society but also issues of trust, loyalty, and celebrity – with the Shakespeare play providing the structure for it all.
—The Horn BookMal Peet (1947–2015) is the acclaimed author of the Carnegie Medal–winning novel Tamar as well as the Boston Globe–Horn Book Honor Book Life: An Exploded Diagram and three Paul Faustino novels: Keeper, The Penalty, and Exposure, a winner of the Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize. He is also the co-author of Cloud Tea Monkeys, Mysterious Traveler, and Night Sky Dragons, all of which he wrote with his wife, Elspeth Graham.