Chronically Dolores

Maya Van Wagenen author

Format:Paperback

Publisher:Dutton Books for Young Readers

Publishing:25th Mar '25

£10.99

This title is due to be published on 25th March, and will be despatched as soon as possible.

Chronically Dolores cover

Dolores Mendoza is not thriving. She was recently diagnosed with a chronic bladder condition called interstitial cystitis. The painful disease isn’t life threatening, but it is threatening to ruin her life. Just when things seem hopeless, Dolores meets someone poised to change her fate. Terpsichore Berkenbosch-Jones is glamorous, autistic, and homeschooled against her will by her overprotective mother. After a rocky start, the girls form a tentative partnership. Beautiful, talented Terpsichore will help Dolores win back her ex-best friend, Shae. And Dolores will convince Terpsichore’s mom that her daughter has the social skills to survive public school. It seems like a foolproof plan, but Dolores isn’t always a reliable narrator, and her choices may put her in danger of committing an unforgivable betrayal.

Praise for Chronically Dolores

Winner of The Schneider Family Book Award, for excellence in portraying the disability experience!


A Kirkus Best Book of the Year

A NYPL Best Book of the Year

Van Wagenen’s fiction debut is a standout with both wide appeal and important, specific representation bolstered by the author’s own life.” —Booklist, starred review

“Compassionate prose conveys the protagonists’ experiences with care and thoughtful, complex characterizations approachably highlight life’s ambiguity.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review

“An insightful, funny, and realistic coming-of-age story.” —Kirkus


Praise for Maya Van Wagenen's Popular

YALSA Award Winner for Excellence in Nonfiction
New York Times Bestseller

“I was inspired by her journey.... Maybe if I had read Popular when I was [Van Wagenen's] age, it could have saved me from a world of hurt, or at least put that world in perspective.” —Maude Apatow for the New York Times Book Review

“Everyone’s happiness project looks different, and I was utterly charmed by Maya Van Wagenen’s honest, funny, and thought-provoking account of her efforts to become ‘popular.’” —Gretchen Rubin, #1 bestselling author of The Happiness Project

  • Winner of Schneider Family Book Award (Young Adult) 2025

ISBN: 9780147512550

Dimensions: 210mm x 138mm x 14mm

Weight: 248g

320 pages