Anderson paints an extremely realistic view of high school from the young protagonist's point of view. The main character is depressed. She was at an end-of-summer party which became rather wild, and she was sexually assaulted. She called 911, and as a result, many of her friends were arrested. Now she is an outcast. And she hasn't spoken about her rape. The book is about her journey to "find her voice" again. The author's use of literary devices, figurative language, and symbolism that a young adult can relate to creates a well-written novel. There is a touch of humor, mostly in the narrator's descriptions of events in the school cafeteria or biology class, and this keeps the novel from getting too "heavy" due to the subject matter. I highly recommend this book.