Summary

The novel begins from the perspective of Maddie Pencott LaRosa, a 16-year-old white girl in east Avalon Island. She and her best friend, Penny, stroll into the summer fair as new members of popular girl Bitsy’s pack, but Maddie clearly stands out from the other girls. She is not able to make fun of Tina Meyer like Bitsy, and she is self-conscious about her appearance. Maddie realizes that her body is somewhere between girl and woman, and she wonders what people think of her and her new crew.

Penny, a former lacrosse champion, was invited into the popular circle due to her recent diagnosis of brain cancer. Maddie notices that her hair is thinning as she eats a powdered donut, and Maddie worries that Penny will make her look bad in front of her new friends. Maddie then thinks...