By Invitation Only by Alexandra Brown Chang

God, given the week I’ve been having, it’s so nice to be able to slip into a book about young people whose deeply felt and very real problems are solved by the end of its 300+ highly readable pages.

So look, when I compare Alexandra Brown Chang’s debut novel By Invitation Only to Cecily Von Ziegesar’s Gossip Girl novels, I need you to understand that that is very high praise. The characters are lived in and kind and flawed and mostly just doing the best they can with the hands they’ve been dealt. Sure, some of them are born rich and feel no guilt about spending their money but my God, wouldn’t it be nice if everyone had the money they needed for food and rent and education, with extras for the frivolity that at the very least maintains the labor that fuels our capitalist hellscape?

One of the main characters in this book sure doesn’t have that kind of money. Despite winning the International Science Fair, Piper Woo Collins won’t be able to afford her first year at Columbia, after her scholarship was suspended due to a dispute between the school and the benefactor who was supposed to endow her funding. She’s understandably distraught, and frantically trying to figure out what to do instead. Her dad’s a hardworking EMT while she herself works at the local Claire’s, but higher education in this country is absurdly expensive even before taking into account the attendant costs of living.

Meanwhile in Paris, the exclusive organization known as Le Danse des Debutantes is trying to rehabilitate its image after one scandal too many. In an effort to show that they do care about the common person, they extend an invitation to Piper to attend the most exclusive debutante ball in the world. Piper thinks it’s a joke, until they offer to pay for her first year at Columbia. That, however, is entirely contingent on her making a good impression on their behalf.

A desperate Piper agrees, despite fashion and glamour not really being her thing. Surprising almost everyone, herself included, her innate charm and use of the scientific method put her in a good position to actually win Debutante of the Year, to the dismay of her roommate Chapin Buckingham. The daughter of a rock legend and a movie star, Chapin has tried all her life to win her mother’s approval, to little avail. If she can be named Debutante of the Year, maybe Ella Somerset will finally give Chapin the unconditional love she’s always craved. She’ll just have to figure out how to defeat Piper first.

But the more time the girls spend together, the more they realize that perhaps they shouldn’t be in competition, especially with the outside trials besetting them. Would it be the worst thing in the world for them to form an alliance in order to get a true shot at the crown?

As much a love letter to Paris as it is an ode to feminine solidarity and friendship, BIO is a feel-good, fashion-forward romp that’s part Cinderella story, part coming-of-age tale, and 100% fabulous. With one foot in a world where smart, hard-working people still can’t afford to pursue their dreams, and another in a world of wealth and beauty for its own sake, this book is a surprisingly coherent melding of the two, with a sweetly wish-fulfilment ending. The only thing I didn’t like, honestly, was Piper making fun of some of the other attendees’ names: it was a surprisingly low dig given how warm-hearted the rest of the book was. That aside, this was a highly readable novel filled with luxury names, gossipy anecdotes and characters you can root for (plus, a delightful homage to the author’s own mom towards the end.) I really enjoyed it, and can’t wait to see what Ms Brown Chang has in store for us next.

By Invitation Only by Alexandra Brown Chang will be published September 2 2025 by Margaret K McElderry Books and is available for pre-order from all good booksellers, including