At the age of sixteen, Antonia is so beautiful that it’s impossible for any stranger seeing her for the first time to even begin to guess how miserable she can make those closest to her. She is nastier now than she was as a little girl, but her hair is a more stunning shade of red and her smile is so glorious that the boys in the high school all want to sit next to her in class, although once they do, these boys freeze up completely, simply because they’re so close to her, and they can’t help embarrassing themselves by staring at her, all googly-eyed and moon-faced, infatuated beyond belief. It makes sense that Antonia’s little sister, Kylie, who will soon be thirteen, spends hours locked in the bathroom, crying over how ugly she is. Kylie is one inch short of six feet, a giant, in her book. She’s as skinny as a stork, with knees that hit against each other when she walks. Her nose and eyes are usually pink as a rabbit’s from all the sobbing she’s been doing lately, and she’s just about given up on her hair, which has frizzed up from the humidity.
