Penguin Workshop The Hardest Ones to Fool: Three scams. Two best friends. One murder.
Penguin Workshop The Hardest Ones to Fool: Three scams. Two best friends. One murder.

The Hardest Ones to Fool: Three scams. Two best friends. One murder.

By Christina Li

$12.99

Publication Date: August 18, 2026

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Availability: Out of stock, but more on the way Pre-orders ship after the publication date.

Ages 12 And Up, Grades 7 And Up

For fans of the hit Netflix series Inventing Anna and The Girls I've Been comes a bold young adult thriller about a teen scammer who won't let boys, friends, or even murder get in her way.

The first printing will feature blood red sprayed edges and a gritty matte cover!


Amelia Wu is great at relationships. So great, in fact, that she’s in three of them. Why choose between the suave debate team captain, the charming indie filmmaker, and the tennis star when she can be with them all?  

The catch? None of them know about each other. It works perfectly. They’re in love with her—or the versions of her that they get. Amy. Ellie. Mia. And she’s in love with the lavish dinners, fancy yacht trips, and expensive gifts. Times three.  

But schemes always get complicated, don’t they? When Amelia's best friend ends up dead, her alleged murder shocks their placid beachside city. And soon, Amelia's carefully planned relationships start to dangerously unravel.

In a fit of desperation, Amelia teams up with her academic nemesis Jackie, the editor-in-chief of the school newspaper and a self-proclaimed true crime junkie, to get to the bottom of this.

After all, Amelia needs to keep her boyfriends close and her enemies closer if she wants to keep her scam—and herself—afloat.

About the Author

Christina Li (she/her) is the award-winning author of children’s books Clues to the Universe, which was a Washington Post summer book club pick, and Ruby Lost and Found, which was an NPR and New York Public Library Best Book of the Year and recipient of the Asian/Pacific American Award for Children's Literature. She is also the author of the young adult novel True Love and Other Impossible Odds as well as her adult fiction debut, The Manor of Dreams, which has been listed as one of TIME magazine’s most anticipated novels of the year. Learn more at christinaliwrites.com.

Author Residence: New York, NY

Author Hometown: San Diego, CA

Format: Trade Paperback

Pages: 256

Publisher: Penguin Workshop

Publication Date: August 4, 2026

ISBN: 9798217053148

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