When Carolyn Lessing moves from New Jersey to Alabama with her mother, she rattles the status quo of the juniors at Adams High. Gorgeous, stylish, a great student and gifted athlete without a mean girl bone in her body Carolyn is gobbled up right away by the school's cliques. She even begins dating a senior, Shane, whose on again/off again girlfriend Brooke becomes Carolyn's bitter romantic rival. When a make-out video of Carolyn and Shane makes the rounds, Carolyn goes from golden girl to slut in an instant, with Brooke and her best friend responsible for the campaign.
Carolyn is hounded and focused on, and becomes more and more private. Questions about her family and her habits torture her. But, a violent confrontation with Shane and Brooke in the student parking lot is the last attack Carolyn can take.
"Provocative and timely.... Parents and children around the world will recognise the difficult and fractured society it depicts."
John Boyne, author of The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
"Riveting, agile, and beautifully judged: one of those essential stories that will capture the imagination of different generations of readers. Superb."
Colum McCann
"Sarah Bannan brings us right into the middle of bullying, 21st Century-style, in an novel that is chilling, engrossing and very, very impressive."
Roddy Doyle, Man-Booker-Prize-winning author of Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha
