Nearly 14, Pauline has discovered that her life is far more interesting if she records it as a great work of fiction - featuring, of course, herself as the tragic heroine. Pauline's hand-wringing accounts of misbehaving boyfriends, backstabbing friends, and general angst are intermingled with more serious issues like her parents' divorce and her beloved teacher's loss of a best friend to AIDS. Laced with the pop-culture references young readers love, Pauline's 'novel' reveals the realities of today's teenage life.