ABIGAIL dreams of acceptance. An eternal outcast returning to school for the first time after a mysterious event the previous year, Abigail escapes from her hostile surroundings by immersing herself in the worlds of the characters she reads about. MELISSA wants control--she"s a sophomore struggling to ignore her dysfunctional home life by using her sex appeal and cruelty to manipulate her surroundings, latching on especially to her new and naive friend, Sophie. SOPHIE is convinced that Melissa"s life--that is, a life she sees as full of popularity, parties, boys, and power--is what will make her happy, and will stop at nothing to emulate her. ELLIE, an observant writer and Sophie"s childhood best-friend, isn"t sure what she wants--except to get out of the rut of self-resentment and falsity that her peers have dragged her into, and to find proof that that"s not all there is...