The pair spends the next few months of their lives dealing with senior year in high school, their parents' divorces, and the quick marriage that legally makes them stepsiblings.

In addition, Peter is striving for early acceptance at Harvard while Leslie spends much of her time in rehearsal for her high school play for she plans to go to college for acting and drama.

As they move on with their lives, Peter and Leslie reconcile and renew their intimacy as the new marriage begins to fall apart primarily because of Nelson’s womanizing, although Aline’s emotional neediness is also a contributing factor.

This novel has been challenged in many schools and public libraries for themes deemed inappropriate for adolescents; in this case, talk about divorce, sexuality and recreational drug use.

Although somewhat dated[citation needed] by current (2010) standards, the characters and situations are sharply drawn and the action moves quickly for those who are at a changing point in their lives.