This book tended to be totally different than I was expecting. Maxie Hawke is reaching a point in her life when things are full of changes. She and her best friend seem to be growing apart when Tay gets involved with a group of snowboarders. In part the hole is filled when her old friend Roddy returns to school. He left in middle school after a horrible homophobic, locker room attack. He is now back, and he prefers to be called Rick instead of Roddy.

Their friendship starts as they become lab partners and chemistry, but it grows as a flirtation grows from two friends hanging out to their possibly being feelings for each other. Unfortunately, old troubles resurface as Rick is still treated as an outsider.

Maxie herself has a strong outlet in her cartooning. Not only is it something to keep her busy, but it also seems to allow her to process her thoughts when she is dealing with something difficult. The novel itself is illustrated with "her" work.

She also fortunate in the fact that she also has the strong support of her gay cousin Sean, who seems to have avoided being too much of a target even though he is out and was raised by her two Unks, her gay Uncle Max and his boyfriend Greg. I do have to say that I really appreciated that the matter-of-fact presentation of Sean and his dads is nice, though it is offset by the fact that homophobia is so rife in the school as part of the horrible bullying climate.

The characters are generally likable, but they read as if they are much younger. Most of them sound like they belong in middle school, particularly when you read their reactions to events and in how they respond. The issues they face are clearly high school in level, as Schmatz does nothing to hide just about every horror that can be faced by high schoolers: biracial couples, closeted teens, school violence, parental abuse, drugs, skipping school. I kept waiting for someone to have anorexia or start cutting themselves because those seem to be the only issues not touched upon.

It is not a bad book, but it is definitely not a strong book, either. I did feel fully engaged in the characters and the (many) plots and subplots.