Life, for Ariel Marini, is complicated.

She's in love with a boy who doesn't know she exists. The boy's stuck-up Miss Perfect girlfriend seems to be trying to make friends with her. Her own friends are being totally weird. And some bad-boy type called Gaston gave her his number. And she put it in her underwear drawer.

An insightful coming-of-age novel for girls with no interest in being "Pretty in Pink".

El Marini just isn't fitting into the new life she's been forced to create without her dad. Her mom and sister have accepted his absence and moved on, but El is convinced things will get back to normal if she just keeps her feelings of loss to herself and waits it out.

Life at her new public school would have been unbearable if weren't for Eric Callahan. As her crush grows to epic proportions, she'll do anything to be more like the popular girls he notices, even buying the first pink top she's ever owned. But then she meets Dylan, a quiet artistic-type who is both unnerving and annoying as he shines a light on El's misguided attempts to attract Eric. El's need for acceptance will hit home with teens as she finally sees that chasing boys has distracted her from making peace with the past and finding herself.