One of the really great things about this novel is that Ashley tells the story. You are inside her head in a way that I don't think I've ever read before. Some of the chapters are only a sentence long, others are several pages—however long it takes for Ashley to get her point across. The grammar, the vocabulary: it's all reflective of her education, of the area where she grew up. She has a voice you can actually hear, something that's rare to find in any novel.

The inside cover of the book jacket describes this novel as “a Cinderella story as only Laurie Halse Anderson could write,” and I completely agree. So much of Ashley's circumstance just seems hopeless. She goes to a school where no one cares about learning. She lives in a low-income area where families crowd together. She has a job she hates simply because she needs the money. And her boyfriend isn't exactly Prince Charming. It's the kind of story where you really want to see the main character get what she wants. There is no way you can read the book and not cheer (even if it's just in your head) for every tiny victory Ashley gets, even if it's simply that she worms her way out of detention for an afternoon. A great read.