A is for Angst, B is for Boobs (either breasts or idiots) . . . This is the teen alphabet according to 14-year-old Theresa Tolliver. Growing up is complicated for a girl who can’t quite decide if Barbie dolls are age appropriate (and what’s with those perfect plastic Barbie boobs?) and who spends a great deal of time deconstructing the high school class system: Normals (Ns) like Theresa are careful to do nothing to stand out; Above-Normals (ANs) are the blessed ones who have perfect breasts (see Barbie above), boyfriends and the right clothes; Sub-Normals (SNs) are what every N fears becoming. Then there’s Achingly Adorable Adam (AA), Theresa’s almost boyfriend, though he doesn’t know it yet. A nd there’s Theresa’s family. What do you do with a pregnant mother, a socially phobic father, a domineering older sister, a jerk for a brother and eccentric grandparents on both sides? It’s a good thing Theresa can rely on her best friend, Biff—except now that the AN poster girl Ashleigh (it’s A shla-a-y, not Ashlee) has taken a sudden interest in Theresa, Biff is acting kind of strange. . . .

Barbara Haworth-Attard, Governor General’s Award finalist for her YA novel Theories of Relativity, has infiltrated the teen girl universe to create this funny, smart and honest look at the complicated lives of today’s adolescents.

BARBARA HAWORTH -ATTARD is an acclaimed children's author, enjoyed by critics and readers alike. Theories of Relativity was a finalist for the Governor General's Award, among other prizes, and Irish Chain was a Red Maple Honour Book, a Manitoba Young Readers' Choice Award Honour Book and a finalist for the Geoffrey Bilson Award. Her other popular titles include Forget-Me-Not, Flying Geese, Home Child, Dark of the Moon, Truth Singer and Love-Lies-Bleeding. Barbara Haworth- Attard lives with her family in London, Ontario. Visit her website at www.barbarahaworthattard.com.