Ascent: Taking Off is a trilogy that includes two separately published novels, When I Get Older I'll Understand and Changing Course, and the new, dynamic culmination novel, Debutante. The first novel introduces Joan Williams, a teenager growing up in Chicago. Typical of most girls her age, she likes school, boys, and hanging out with her friends. Joan and her girlfriends are about to enter high school where, all too often, acceptance is based on how you look and dress. Surrounded by her popular friends, Joan struggles to establish her own identity and to discover what she wants to do with her...