Mary Porter-Malcolm knows all about Mistakes That Have Been Made, especially by the impressionable heroines of 19th-century novels. So when a girl at her new high school nearly succumbs to the wiles of a notorious cad, Mary compiles the Scoundrel Survival Guide, a rundown of literary types to be avoided at all costs.

Alas, the number one bad boy on her list is terribly debonair. As her best intentions go up in flames, Mary discovers life doesn’t follow the same rules as fiction. If she wants a happy ending IRL, she’ll have to write it herself.