Thirteen-year-old Janet McGiver feels that her life has become too complicated and painful. Her grandmother is ill, her parents fight all the time, and she isn"t sure she can trust one of her best friends. More and more, Janet retreats into the world of her favorite soap opera-a world in which problems are resolved quickly and even hospital patients look glamorous. Moving between fantasy and reality, she tries to live as though she were a character in a soap opera, but finds that the real world is much more ambiguous and complex than that of the small screen. Sarah Sargent brings insight as well as humor to her portrayal of an ordinary middle-class girl looking for answers in a world of malls and TV "glitz."