Come on," he says. "Hop in." My heart pounds. I can feel sweat gathering at my armpits. "I don't think so." "Why not?" "I can't," I say. "Not now." "Okay," he says. "Another time then." He winks. He turns on his signal and pulls back onto the street. I watch his car get smaller then disappear around the bend. Instead of relief I feel disappointed, like I've just missed out on something big. My chance to matter. Fourteen-year-old Jessica doesn't know who she is anymore. Her once strong mother is falling apart after a messy divorce, and Jessica doesn't even have the energy to help her. She has her own problems, not least the school photography contest which requires her to submit a self-portrait; an impossible task when her own identity is a mystery to her. The only thing Jessica seems sure of is the great feeling she gets when someone is checking her out...A cautionary tale about a teenage girl who uses her newfound sexuality as an escape, until she realises just what it's costing her.

 

 

There are 176 pages in this book.

It is aimed at Young Adult readers. The term Young Adult (YA) is used for books which have the following characteristics: (1) aimed at ages 12-18 years, US grades 7-12, UK school years 8-15, (2) around 50-75k words long, (3) main character is aged 12-18 years, (4) topics include self-reflection, internal conflict vs external, analyzing life and its meaning, (5) point of view is often in the first person, and (6) swearing, violence, romance and sexuality are allowed.

This book was published in 2006 by Simon & Schuster .