How can a new girl fit in?

He talked, I listened. As I tried to appear interested, I thought that even Mojo was more interested in what I had to say. And he's a dog.

Theresa Joanne (T. J. to her friends) is having a difficult year. First her best friend moves away. Then there's the problem with boys: They never seem to notice that she's a girl. But when Lucy befriends T. J., things start to look up. But will Lucy's best friends Nesta and Izzie accept her and let her into their world of sleepovers, secrets, laughter, and advice?

"I wonder what would have happened if I'd met you before Nesta," said Luke as he took my hand and looked deeply into my eyes. A bolt of electricity shot through me and I snatched my hand back as if it had been burnt. This can't be happening, I thought.

When Luke, the boy that Nesta has been dating, declares passionate love for T.J., she doesn't know what has hit her. She does her best to avoid him, but when the local schools are asked to work together on a project, Luke is chosen as the overall coordinator and T.J. has no choice but to report back to him on a regular basis....

A turning point is exactly what Lucy Loverling does NOT want. Everything is changing around her, and suddenly she has to make all sorts of decisions. Everyone else knows who and what she wants to be except her. Izzie has become friends with the glamorous Nesta, and Lucy isn't certain she likes a threesome. Nesta and Izzie look sixteen, but Lucy, at fourteen, can still pass for a twelve-year-old.

But then one day Lucy sees the most wonderful boy crossing the street, and things do start to change -- in all areas of her life...

"That William Lewis really thinks a lot of himself," I said. "He's such a smartarse."

"Hhmm,"said Lucy, grinning. "That's what he said about you too."

"He did? What a cheek! God, he annoys me. I really hate him."

Lucy, TJ, and Izzie exchanged knowing looks. "Yeah sure," said TJ. "You hate him."

Nesta's life is thrown into upheaval when she gets involved in charity work thinking that it might be a cool way to meet people (mainly boys). But as her eyes are opened to the plight of the world, she begins to want genuinely to get involved and help others.

On top of this, Nesta...

"Hey listen guys. I need you to tell me something and I want you to be really really honest...." "Sounds serious," said Nesta. "It is. I want you to tell me, do you think I've put on weight?" Nesta, Lucy, and T J looked at each other. "No," said T J after a moment too long. "Not really. Well, we all did a little on the school trip. So no more than the rest of us."

Izzie has always been "curvy," but since Christmas she has gained eight pounds, and nothing seems to fit anymore. In an attempt to lose weight, Izzie tries everything: one diet after another, a punishing exercise program, and...

"Do you think that room service will deliver chocolate?" asked Izzie, who was on her knees on the floor with her face in the minibar. "We're all out here."

"Yeah," said T. J. "Who needs boys when you can have chocolate?"

"Ah, but they come in handy when we haven't any," said Nesta. "Let's call the boys in their rooms. Maybe they haven't eaten their supplies."

A school trip to Florence seems like the perfect escape for Lucy. She wants time away from Tony, who is pressuring her to take their relationship further. In Italy she meets an American boy and thinks he might be the ideal...