To an outsider, it might seem like an uneventful summer, but to Jackie it's a whole new world. Her father has a new girlfriend -- a young tattoo-artist named Nicole. Her mother seems more interested in Theresa, the sick girl living across the street, than she is in her own daughter.

Lori Weber has published poetry, short stories, and essays in several Canadian literary journals and collections. She has also written several YA novels. She lives in Pointe-Claire, Quebec. www.lori-weber.com