Noli (short for Noelle; she was born on Christmas) Brown and TJ (Thomas Jerome) Baker are both high school juniors. Their unlikely romance furnishes the plot of this brief novel and sets into place most of its themes: love in many of its permutations (romance, familial love, the love between friends, and unrequited longing); deception, including self-deception; loneliness and isolation; loss and death; and self-acceptance and growth.

Although the story is related from the omniscient perspective, Noli is the main protagonist whose thoughts and opinions are shared directly with the reader. Her appearance is described as "pure tomboy," as she wears her hair short and prefers jeans and baseball caps instead of the dresses her mother favors. TJ Baker refers to Noli as a "gamin" or "beautiful tomboy." Conversely, TJ is described as "not handsome, but beautiful" and his appearance is related in terms...