Betsy Kimmel's idyllic life is shattered when her mother dies in a car accident. Without her mom's income, Betsy must leave her private school and finish her freshman year in a large urban district. At her new school, Betsy becomes the target of a treacherous bully. She also develops several interesting friendships with an array of quirky individuals, including a runaway foster girl and a handsome exchange student.

When Dad relieves his own grief with excessive drinking and a not-so-nice girlfriend, Betsy's home life begins to deteriorate. She eventually becomes the caregiver for her younger brother. After Dad blurts out that her mom suffered from clinical depression and that the car accident might have been a suicide, Betsy begins to make dangerous choices of her own.

When Dad finally hits bottom, Betsy's grandmother gains temporary custody and takes Betsy and her brother to live in a retirement community. After Dad is sober and the family is reunited, Betsy confronts the one-year anniversary of her mother's death and ultimately finds out the truth about the accident.

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