The first Class of 2k10 book to launch is:



Of All the Stupid Things, by Alexandra Diaz, debuting today from Egmont US!  Alexandra summarizes this young adult, contemporary novel:  Tara, Whitney Blaire, and Pinkie were the best of friends—until the new girl Riley came to town and changed all the rules. For more, see Alexandra Diaz's Class of 2k10 page.

To celebrate our launches, we thought that in keeping with the Class of 2k10's "Book Your Getaway" theme, we would do guest posts on the theme of travel. Enjoy Alexandra's post on her worst trip ever:

When I was sixteen, I went to Russia with my mother. The trip itself was fine, but after a week or so, I got bored and wanted to go home. Mom, however, had to stay an extra week. Because I was a very experienced traveler and very mature for my age (not to mention a bit stubborn), I convinced my mom to let me fly back to the States on my own. I passed the first security check point and x-ray without any problems. When I got to the second check point, the man there started asking questions I couldn’t answer.

“Where were you staying?”
“With a friend of my mom’s colleagues.”
“What is his name?”
“Nicolai.”
“Nicolai what?”
“I don’t know.”
“Where does he live?”
“I don’t know.”

The man phoned his supervisor and I was escorted into a private room with my bags. I repeated my story to the supervisor and was then thoroughly body searched by a female guard. If that wasn’t enough, they pulled out every single article of clothing out of my suitcase, even holding up my underwear and bras. After thirty-five minutes, the supervisor finally let me go. The man who started the whole thing didn’t give up though. He met me at the end of the jet way, seriously a foot before the airplane door, and insisted that he search my bags again. Finding nothing, he said, “Sorry for the inconvenience, hope to see you soon.”

I turned and glared at him, “After the way I’ve been treated, I hope I never see you again.” And I got on the plane.

They never told me what I did wrong, or why they were so suspicious, so naturally I started drawing my own conclusions. Once I got over the embarrassment and anger, I entertained myself with a great story about a drug lord called Nicolai who (being much younger and sexier than the real Nicolai) set me up by hiding his stash in my bags. As usually is the case, the story in my head completely made up for the reality of my life.

Visit Alexandra Diaz's website or order OF ALL THE STUPID THINGS.