Its plot centers on the last two weeks of teenage girl's life as a high school student growing up in Downers Grove, Illinois.

[citation needed] Crystal Methedrine Swanson, known as Chrissie, is a teenager in Downers Grove, Illinois, about to graduate from high school.

As her graduation nears, Chrissie and her close friend, Tracey, worry about a curse surrounding the high school that has led to multiple students dying each year.

"[1] Robin Henley of the Chicago Tribune wrote: "If the story and setting sound like territory that has been well-trod, that's because it has been, but what makes this novel a welcome addition to the canon of coming-of-age literature is the voice Hornburg has created for Chrissie.

Hornburg knows the rhythms of teenage world-weariness, a self-possessed patter that often belies the terror of straddling the worlds of adulthood and childhood.