Since her parents' bitter divorce, Mclean and her father have been on the move. Estranged from her mother, Mclean has followed her dad in leaving the unhappy past behind. And each new place gives her a chance to try out a new persona. But now, for the first time, Mclean discovers a desire to stay in one place and just be herself --- whoever that is.

It’s been so long since Auden slept at night. Ever since her parents’ divorce --- or since the fighting started. Now she has the chance to spend a carefree summer with her dad and his new family in the charming beach town where they live. 

A job in a clothes boutique introduces Auden to the world of girls: their talk, their friendship, their crushes. She missed out on all that, too busy being the perfect daughter to her demanding mother. Then she meets Eli, an intriguing loner and a fellow insomniac who becomes her guide to the nocturnal world of the town. Together they embark on parallel quests: for Auden, to experience the carefree teenage life she’s been denied; for Eli, to come to terms with the guilt he feels for the death of a friend.

Ruby knows that the game is up. For the past few months, she’s been on her own in the yellow house, managing somehow, knowing that her mother will probably never return. That’s how she comes to live with Cora, the sister she hasn’t seen in 10 years, and Cora’s husband Jamie, whose down-to-earth demeanor makes it hard for Ruby to believe he founded the most popular networking website around. A luxurious house, a fancy private school, a new wardrobe, the promise of college and a future --- it’s a dream come true. So why is Ruby wary and defensive? And why is Nate, the boy next door with some secrets of his own, unable to accept the help that Ruby is just learning to give?

Halley has always followed in the wake of her best friend, Scarlett. But when Scarlett learns that her boyfriend has been killed in a motorcycle accident, and that she's carrying his baby, she's devastated. For the first time ever, Scarlett really needs Halley. Though their friendship may be tested by the strain, like a true friendship, it will endure.

Always an outcast --- first for being fat and then for being "easy" --- Colie has no friends at home and doesn't expect to find any in Colby, North Carolina, where she's spending the summer with her eccentric aunt. But then she lands a job at the Last Chance Café and meets fellow waitresses Morgan and Isabel. Wacky yet wise, Morgan and Isabel help Colie come to see herself in a new way.