Author Description

Audrey Dae’s debut young adult novel, What You’re In For, is a twisting dive into how decision-making affects relationship development. Cleverly introspective and delightfully witty, it follows a range of teens over a particularly explosive Fourth of July weekend in the Missouri Ozarks. Central characters Esther and Ruth navigate competition, communication, parents, and poker games—while each story gradually collides into the others. The reader emerges from the ensuing storm of emotions with the knowledge that truth is only a connection away from change, wants and needs aren’t always what they seem, and everyone has the ability to own their actions. Summary Ruth can predict her own futures. Esther can recall, in perfect detail, their shared pasts. As friends, and then as rivals, they trained at Kishi Academy—it’s the first school for young adults with extraordinary cognitive abilities like theirs. But it’s not where this story takes place. When Ruth steals money meant for Esther, a wild chase leads them into summer break and a funny little town on the edge of familiarity. While dealing with their competing feelings for each other, the two will also have to endure the locals, the visitors, and the hunter on their trail. From the bottom of the glistening lake to the top of the tree-covered hills, Esther and Ruth must blend as best they can into intertwining stories that prove the present is the most provocative place to be.