Does anyone ever see us for who we really are? Jo Knowles s revelatory novel of interlocking stories peers behind the scrim as it follows nine teens and one teacher through a seemingly ordinary day.

Thanks to a bully in gym class, unpopular Nate suffers a broken finger the middle one, splinted to flip off the world. It won t be the last time a middle finger is raised on this day. Dreamer Claire envisions herself sitting in an artsy cafe, filling a journal, but fate has other plans. One cheerleader dates a closeted basketball star; another questions just how, as a "big girl," she fits in. A group of boys scam drivers for beer money without remorse or so it seems. Over the course of a single day, these voices and others speak loud and clear about the complex dance that is life in a small town. They resonate in a gritty and unflinching portrayal of a day like any other, with ordinary traumas, heartbreak, and revenge. But on any given day, the line where presentation and perception meet is a tenuous one, so hard to discern. Unless, of course, one looks a little closer and reads between the lines."

Have you ever had a song stuck in your head that you just can't shake? Shimmy shimmy no sashay sings little worm as he wriggles along. He's got a song stuck in his head - he's got an ear worm! But where has it come from? It's not Owl's song. And it's not Chipmunk's song either. Will Little Worm ever discover where the catchy tune in his head came from?