Julia, Lindsey,
Sophie, and Courtney enter Stuyvesant, New York City's most
prestigious
public high school, in September of 2001, just days before
they watch
the Twin Towers crumble outside their classroom window. A
bond of
friendship is struck, and yet demanding class schedules,
extracurricular activities, and busy social lives make it
hard for them
to stay in touch. This prompts the four girls to start "The
Notebook,"
a collective journaling project that allows them to express
their
frustrations, triumphs, and everyday encounters inside an
ordinary
composition book. Their experiences are not unusual: They
get cut from
teams, get bad grades, win debates, get rebuffed by
boyfriends, plan
surprise parties, smoke, drink, experiment with sex, and
argue with
their parents. But it is the raw honesty of these page-turning
exchanges that will captivate readers, involving them in
both their
individual and group stories, and laying bare what it is
really like to
be a teenager today.