Jealousy

How much should beauty determine a person’s worth in society, and how far will one woman go to gain approval? Rochelle Jackson is a woman born without, as she calls it, the “pretty gene.” Without makeup, she believes she more closely resembles a man, and she hasn’t revealed to anyone that she prefers dating women—though she isn’t noticed by anyone of any gender. This mix of repressing volatile emotions and the simmering resentment bred by years of rejection becomes the destructive force behind her scheme to dethrone Dakota North, Rochelle’s beautiful cousin and a prima donna in her own right. Rochelle is ready to emerge, for the first time, from Dakota’s shadow. When Rochelle lets loose with her vicious plan, it becomes an all-out war that will leave both parties changed forever. In the compelling tradition of E. Lynn Harris, Jealousy has an emotionally wrenching plot and characters dealing with tough issues. Jenkins-Sanders skillfully explores the emotional issues of cravings approval, power, and validation, which is intertwined with struggles of bisexuality and homosexuality. Jenkins-Sanders’s powerful novel questions our values and provides a fresh perspective on the fight for power and identity in a world full of negative self-image.