In 1927, bold and glamorous Polish artist Tamara de Lempicka encountered 17-year-old Rafaela while in Paris's Bois de Boulogne and took her home, using her as a model for six significant paintings (including Beautiful Rafaela) and briefly becoming her lover. De Lempicka was working on a copy of Beautiful Rafaela when she died in 1980. Inspired by these bare facts, Avery (The Teahouse Fire) has crafted an evocative, heart-cutting work that imagines the relationship between artist and model. Traveling from New York to Italy for an arranged marriage, Rafaela escapes from her chaperone and, "trad[ing] sex for a train ticket," heads for Paris. There she's gloriously free but living on the edge; when de Lempicka finds her, she's gone to borrow money from a street-walking friend. Avery does a lot for us here, creating two stunning characters—the earthy, heartfelt Rafaela and the conniving de Lempicka—then shows us both the heat of their relationship and the very act of creating art. In the bargain, we get Paris itself, particularly demimonde and artistic, boiling over with possibility. VERDICT Absorbing, affecting, and agitating—you'll end up wanting to punch de Lempicka—this work is highly recommended. [See Prepub Alert, 7/5/11.]—Barbara Hoffert, Library Journal