25 Pains of Kennedy Baines — Dede Crane

Kennedy, newly 15, has a lot of questions. Is her annoying little sister really her sister, or only her half-sister? Did her family move across the country for her father's job or because her free-spirited mother had something, or someone, she needed to get away from? Kennedy is reluctant to join the ranks of burdened adults, yet is frustrated by the timid passions of boys her own age, particularly her boyfriend Jordan. She resorts to Jane Austen novels, Colin Firth movies, and singing her heart out in her bedroom. An average summer turns not-so-typical when her best friend Sarina becomes self-destructive and a creepy cyber-stalker appears on their chat line. Things truly heat up when she meets 18-year-old Colin. As Kennedy and Sarina make plans to trap the cyber-stalker, Kennedy finds Colin's good looks and predatory charms hard to resist. Can she find the courage to ask the right questions and to see truth for what it is? This poignant novel deals fearlessly and humorously with the concerns of modern teens: relationships and sex, family, alcohol, racism, cyber-stalkers, and wild cougars.