Bettina Ballentyne is a chocolate heiress only by name; it is her glamorous and narcissistic mother, Babs, who lives up to the billing and plays by no ones rules. Navigating a simultaneously treacherous and alluring landscape of wealth, sex, and decadencefirst in her privileged childhood in Chicago and later at a top-tier east coast boarding schoolBettina must figure out how to reconcile her yearning for maternal affection with her mothers take-no-prisoners-style parenting. Ashley Prentice Nortons unflinching eye and acerbic wit capture Bettinas coming of age with the perfect mixture of tragic and comic. Simultaneously sassy, deeply twisted, and uproariously funny, the novels sharp and sparkly humor will have you laughing during its darkest moments. A mesmerizing portrayal of the corrosive effects of an American fortune, The Chocolate Money is a shocking and intensely readable debut.