by Laura McNeal
First published 2002
Clara Wilson watches her best friend Gerri drift toward popular circles that exclude girls with crooked noses. Her parents fight constantly while her mother dreams of teaching in France. Clara finds comfort in her dog Hambone and her growing feelings for Amos McKenzie. Amos struggles with his own family troubles. His father asks annoying questions and his mother has suddenly found religion. Despite thinking Clara is a dork, he starts falling for her. The Tripp Brothers, notorious troublemakers who destroy mailboxes and steal groceries, notice the budding romance. They drive around town in their makeshift Seduck vehicle, looking for targets. When they focus their attention on Clara and Amos, the young couple faces real danger. Both teenagers must navigate family chaos, social pressures, and genuine threats while discovering that telling the truth might solve their problems, even when honesty feels impossible to achieve.
Genres: romance, coming-of-age, contemporary, family-drama
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, found-family
Setting: France
Period: 20th-century
352 pages · Mass Market Paperback · Laurel Leaf
Content warnings: anxiety, depression