Summary

Annemarie Wilcox or "Shug" is, in her eyes, less than perfect. Her family life is almost non-existent with a mother who is an alcoholic, a father who is always away on business and a sister who, lets put it this way, got the better genes. Not to mention the overwhelming feeling that the whole world is growing up around her while she is left standing in the dust. Entering grade seven with her best friend Elaine, she is determined to get her first kiss from her long time friend Mark, to get good grades and to jump head first into Junior High life with all its glory. But things start falling apart when Elaine finds a boyfriend and Mark starts to pull away. Nearing the conclusion, Shug discovers that while some things will change others will become enhanced as she figures out who her true friends are and discovers that growing up isn't as scary as she thought.