Ellen was eight years old and wore bands on her teeth. Her best friend had just moved away and she missed her. Still, as she walked to the Spofford School of the Dance one Saturday, she was almost glad she had no best friend. Best friends do not have secrets from each other, and Ellen had a secret she did not want to share with anyone. But by the time the dancing lesson was over (surely the most devastating dancing lesson on record), Ellen had found...

Shelley has high hopes for her junior year of high school. Everything is going to be different. This year she is going to California to live with family friends and she will be free to run her own life. Now she's about to discover the magic of falling in love - and a whole lot more!