Cheating lessons

Could honesty be the worst policy? Sixteen-year-old Bernadette Terrell is a champion debater who adores books, contests, and winning. When she's named captain of her school's Classics Bowl team to compete on TV against their private school rival, Bernadette is thrilled. This is more than a chance to earn the state title, win money for college, and bring glory to her run-down Michigan town. It’s even more than a chance to make some nonfictional friends for a change. This contest is what Bernadette has trained for her whole life. Winning is her destiny. Or is it? On the eve of the championship match she discovers that someone she trusts has cheated. And Bernadette is the only one who knows. An honors student who’s always been sure of the right thing to do, now she wonders just what that might be, since “winning” has taken on a new meaning. And yet--it’s still a competition. And she’s still a girl who hates to lose. In this coming-of-age story that will speak to teens, parents, and teachers, Nan Willard Cappo uses suspense and humor to craft a mystery about school cheating, friendship, peer pressure, and courage, in which an appealingly smart heroine must decide for herself what battles are truly worth winning. Cheating Lessons blends classic literature, academic ambition, and a riveting ethical dilemma into a novel that never cheats the reader.

NAN WILLARD CAPPO drew on her experience coaching school competitions to write Cheating Lessons (2002). She has worked as a waitress, a college teacher, and in corporate sales, and knows temptation can occur in any field. Her second novel is Unaccounted For (2011), also set in Michigan. She lives now in Pittsburgh and is writing another book. Visit her at www.nancappo.com ALL FORMATS, Available May 2016: Trade Paper Hardcover Audiobook eBook

(reviews for 2002 edition) "...a convincing and amusing picture of an appeallingly sarcastic protagonist...Cappo tells an absorbing--and sharply funny--story of an adolescent who gains some new friends when she learns to be a little less critical and who, while losing her naive confidence in adults, refreshingly maintains confidence in herself." --Horn Book starred review "teens...will enjoy the great quotes and the witty talk, and they'll be caught up in the Jeopardy!-like tension as well as the mystery of who's cheating and why." --Booklist "...the humor and characterization are well-developed...this enjoyable story will be popular in settings serving talented students." --School Library Journal "Suspense! I'd recommend this book to all teens." --VOYA "...Cappo's first novel is a satisfying read with interesting characters and a moral dilemma..." --Kirkus Reviews “Learning that the people you trust the most can sometimes let you down is tough at any age. But it’s especially difficult when two of those people…prove their fallibility simultaneously. So when Bernadette Terrell, one of Michigan’s top five high school debaters, realizes that “just because people love you doesn’t mean they aren’t wrong,” she’s forced to tackle a moral issue by herself…In the end, Bernadette learns to trust her judgment [and] shift her priorities…But Cappo uses humor, rather than moral precepts, to achieve this goal. And Bernadette’s change of heart does not come at the expense of her strong-minded spirit… --Teacher Magazine, “Recommended” review "This is an excellent, tautly written novel...definitely an author to watch out for!" Amazon review, Vine Voice Edgar Nominee, Best YA Mystery; Junior Library Guild Selection ALA Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults; "Clean Reads for Girls," YALSA