CUSS.

REPE
D. DIS AT
A .
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ABOUT THE BOOK

On the outside, Anika Dragomir is all lip gloss and blond hair—the third most popular
girl in school.
Book
Inside, she’s a freak. She can’t stop thinking about former loner Logan McDonough, who Club
showed up on the first day of tenth grade hotter, bolder, and more mysterious than Pick!
ever. Logan is fascinating , troubled, and off-limits. The Pound High queen bee will make
Anika’s life hell if she’s seen with him. So Anika must choose—ignore her feelings and
keep her social status? Or follow her heart and risk becoming a pariah? Which will
she pick? And what will she think of her choice when an unimaginable tragedy strikes,
changing her forever?

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. At first, Anika thinks it’s more important to be popular than to be true to
herself. How do you think the pressures of fitting in affect our relationships
with others?
2. Becky, the most popular girl in school, only gets ahead by being a bully. Why
do you think she feels the need to be so mean to everyone else? Why do you
think people listen to Becky? What should Anika and Shelli do about Becky’s
bullying? Why is it important to speak up when you witness bullying?
3. Anika is afraid to tell people about her relationship with Logan because of his
social status. “Logan is off-limits because he’s a social pariah that could
completely ruin me . . .” (p 117). How do you think Logan feels about that? Do
you think that is fair to Logan? Is it fair to Anika?
7. Logan is honest about his feelings for Anika, but Anika realizes too late
that she loves him. “I was in love with Logan, and now I’ ll never be able to
tell him” (p 313). Why do you think it’s difficult for people to admit their
true feelings? Do you think it’s important to tell people how you really feel?
8. Logan and Jared are both judged too quickly. People think that Logan is just
a nerd and that Jared is a player. “Jared Kline is like a total scam artist.
Everybody knows that” (p 130). Anika learns that both of them are great in
their own ways. What is the risk in judging others too quickly? Have you
ever been falsely judged by someone? How did it make you feel?
9. Do you think Becky deserved what she got in the end? Do you think Anika did
the right thing in her speech? Were you satisfied with the ending?

4. Although Anika considers Shelli a best friend, Anika doesn’t completely trust
her. How important is trust in a friendship? What qualities do you look for
in a true friend?
5. Anika is constantly caught between doing wrong and right. Do you think she
did the right thing about Stacey Nolan? Do you think giving the money to
Tiffany justified stealing it? Have you ever done something to help someone
even if it meant hurting someone else?
6. Logan, Anika, Shelli, and Tiffany all have stressful relationships with someone
in their family. What effect does home life have on each of the characters?
How does it influence how they interact with their peers?
10. Andrea Portes’s story is inspired by events that really happened to her. In
her words, “When I was in ninth grade I went out with a boy from ‘the wrong
side of the tracks.’ My girlfriends pressured me to break up with him , even
though he was amazing , because he wasn’t ‘cool enough.’ I am ashamed to
admit, I did so. After the breakup, he would write me poems and haikus,
leaving them in my locker. I ignored them. Four months later, his dad loaded
a shotgun in the middle of the night, shot his wife and his four sons and
then himself.” Does knowing this change your thoughts about this story or
its characters? Does it change, in any way, how you think about the world?

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