Ironically, Zarr sees herself as "a little scared of teenagers — I always think I'm not cool enough to be around them. I wouldn't say I'm stuck in my adolescence, but I think, like a lot of people, I carry my teen years with me. I feel really in touch with those feelings, and how intense and complicated life seems in those years."

Zarr considers the emotions teens experience to be timeless. "If you worry about what's trendy, in a few years readers may not know what you're talking about. There is some slang in the book but, I don't think, enough to date it. Everyone has an identity crisis when they are 16 or 17 years old. This family doesn't do a very good job at it, but that's like real life."

The author suspects that some potential readers will not get into this book because parents are afraid of dealing with the sex issue — and she doesn't blame them for that. "But eventually young people have to learn to filter out what is appropriate or not on their own. I tried to tell the story in a way that is as authentic as I could make it."

Zarr writes in an inviting, down-to-earth way and treats the issue of teen sex in a delicate manner, with no graphic description. She portrays believable characters coping with typically horrendous problems in their teen years. And her dialogue does seem authentic.

She doesn't believe in writer's block; she thinks when a writer feels afflicted with it, she just needs to apply self-discipline.

And she doesn't consciously write message books, though there are lessons that can be gleaned from the book — especially about the relationship between parents and teens.

Still, Zarr thinks some people expect too much from young-adult novels. "They want them to teach a lesson, to be uplifting, to be above reproach — yet there is a huge range of interest in the genre. I just did the best I could with it."

Above all, Zarr intended only to tell what she considered to be a good story. And the only autobiographical aspect she used was the strained relationship between father and daughter. Her own father was an alcoholic, and even homeless for several years, so she missed him and yearned for the validation of her life that only parents can provide. "It's hard for girls. Every girl needs a good male role model in her life. Even if Deanna's father had said, 'It's OK, I love you anyway,' it would have made a huge difference.

"My mom was great with me, and I had a great stepfather by the time I was in high school. So high school was better for me. I really just made up this story."

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E-mail: dennis@desnews.com