New Girl |
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Summary:
Anna Kelley experiences many changes in her life. First her beloved Gran dies, then her mother quits her job as a lawyer and buys a bookstore. This means that the Kelleys have to sell their house and move to a smaller house. But the biggest change is that Anna cannot go to a private school but must begin the new year at Bayview. She is soon befriended by a group of girls who sit together at lunch. Then Anna, wanting to be liked, goes to the mall, cuts classes, steals a pair of sunglasses and ends up getting drunk at a party hosted by one of the girls. Anna soon learns who her real friends are and how easy it is to make the wrong choices. |
Before You Read — Pre-Reading
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Chapter One—Losing Gran
Summary:
Anna Kelley and her mom stand in the cemetery. Her grandmother had just died. It brings back painful memories of Anna's father's death thirteen years previously. Anna will miss her grandmother who had taken care of her for many years after her mom went back to law school. She lays the white roses on the casket and says her last good-byes to her Gran. |
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Chapter Two—Changes
Summary:
Anna's mom comes home from work with news. She has quit her law practice and has bought a bookstore. That will mean changes; no private school for Anna and a smaller house. Anna will have to leave St. Mary's Collegiate, all her friends and the basketball team. They have a garage sale and then move to Fairwell Street. |
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Chapter Three—The Vomit Room
Summary:
Anna's new room is a horror. It is sponged with bright green paint with splattered pink doors. The painters had not come! Anna is anxious about all of the changes and nervous about going to a new school. She and her mom keep busy getting the store organized for the opening, unpacking and shopping for back-to-school clothes. |
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Chapter Four—First Day of School
Summary:
Anna wakes up late and rushes to get ready for school. She wonders what to wear. Finally she gulps down some cereal, grabs her backpack and jumps into her mom's SUV. Her mom tells her not to be nervous. She's not nervous, she's scared. She wonders who she will eat lunch with. After lining up in the wrong line to get her timetable, she's directed to the new student line-up where she gets her timetable and locker number. History class is first! |
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Chapter Five—A Sore Thumb
Summary:
Anna finds her first classroom and walks in late to the stares of her classmates. She shares a textbook with Amber. She is embarrassed when she is scolded for whispering and bolts out of the class to find her next classroom so she will not be late. A tall good-looking guy with brown eyes offers to help. He flirts with her and tells her he will see her in history class tomorrow. His name is Seth Morgan. |
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Chapter Six—Lunchtime
Summary:
Anna's day is a blur as she struggles to find her way around the school. The cafeteria is loud and crowded and she is lonesome for her old friends to eat lunch with. Some boys who are fooling around bump her table and knock over her lunch. Seth is with them and apologizes. Anna is annoyed and gets some napkins to mop up. When she returns the girls nearby invite her to join them. They tell her to watch out for Seth Morgan. Anna is suspicious. |
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Chapter Seven—Smokin'
Summary:
Anna and Stephanie head to gym class. The girls change for gym. Ms. Jenkins comes in and gives them the three-minute warning. Stephanie heads into a stall. Anna waits for her. Ms. Jenkins comes back into the locker room. She smells smoke. Anna pretends she is sick. Stephanie comes out still in her jeans but denies smoking. Ms. Jenkins has no proof but gives them one minute to get on the volleyball court. Stephanie laughs at Anna's lame excuse to cover for her. |
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Chapter Eight—Mall Rats
Summary:
After school Anna decides to work out at a gym called The Sweat Shop. She wants to stay in shape for basketball tryouts. Stephanie, Cindy, and Mandi invite her to the mall. She thinks it will be fun to hang out with her new friends so she skips the workout. They try on armloads of clothes at a dozen stores. Anna realizes it is 6:30 and she has missed supper. Her mom will be mad. When she gets home her mother wants to know what she has been up to. She tells her mom about her day and then calls Jennifer and Colleen to tell them about her first day at Bayview High. They invite her to a sleepover on Friday. |
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Chapter Nine—Playing for Keeps
Summary:
Anna wakes up feeling great about making new friends. On the way to school she asks her mom if she can sleep over at Jennifer's on Friday. She forgets she already made plans with her new friends. Her mom suggests that Colleen and Jennifer can meet her new friends and then she can go to Jennifer's house afterward. At lunchtime Anna looks for Stephanie, Cindy, and Mandi. When she tries to sit down Stephanie tells her someone is already sitting there. When she asks if she can bring friends to a party Stephanie tells her she is not invited. She watches Anna and then tells her it is a joke. When they talk about clothes, Stephanie admits to stealing a shirt because clothes are overpriced and everyone steals. Anna is shocked about the shoplifting. |
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Chapter Ten—Choosing Sides
Summary:
Stephanie is ten minutes late for gym class. They are playing soccer outdoors. Stephanie and Christine are captains. They choose teams. Dawn, an unathletic girl, and Anna, are last to be chosen. Stephanie looks at Anna, but picks Dawn. Anna is angry. Stephanie has been mean on purpose. Real friends do not behave this way. Anna is a good athlete and plays as hard as she can. Her team scores again and again. Anna runs into Stephanie and knocks her flat. She says sorry but does not mean it. |
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Chapter Eleven—The Sweat Shop
Summary:
Anna goes to the gym and jogs on the treadmill. It makes her feel better about the way Stephanie treated her in gym class. She sees Kalen and Scott in the gym. It feels strange for Anna to be talking to boys every day after spending two years at an all-girls private school. The next day Anna tries to ignore Stephanie. Stephanie explains she does not want Ms. Jenkins' to think they are friends, which would put Anna on Ms. Jenkins' bad side. She talks Anna into skipping class and going to the mall to shop for the party. |
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Chapter Twelve—Wild Things
Summary:
Being at the mall in the afternoon is strange; there are no other teenagers around. The girls go into a store called Wild Things where the clothes are funky. Mandi grabs a pile of clothes to try on. The sales clerk counts out three pieces she can try on at a time. She watches them carefully. Stephanie dares Anna to shoplift, calls her a chicken, and says she is boring. Anna rises to the challenge. When the sales clerk stoops down to stack sweaters on a low shelf, Anna grabs some sunglasses and walks out. |
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Chapter Thirteen—Thief!
Summary:
Anna thinks the hand on her shoulder is a security guard. It is Stephanie. Anna shows her the sunglasses. Even though she knows what she did is wrong, Anna feels good about belonging to a group. She skips her workout and goes home for dinner. Her mom is making homemade soup and biscuits. When they talk about their day, Anna's mom tells her about the boy she catches shoplifting at the bookstore and has to call the police. She tells Anna that shop owners lose thousands of dollars each year through theft. Anna feels ashamed and hides the sunglasses in a box under her bed. |
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Chapter Fourteen—Old Friends, New Life
Summary:
The next day no one mentions what happened at Wild Thing. But Anna is worried that her new friends will tell Colleen and Jennifer about the shoplifting. Then it will get back to her mom. Her solution is to tell Jennifer she needs to help her mom clean the storage room at the bookstore on Friday night after closing. Seth Morgan sees her by her locker and offers to pick her up for Cindy's party. She declines because she has plans with the girls but tells him she will see him there. |
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Chapter Fifteen—Party Time
Summary:
Anna dresses carefully for the party. She wants to look good. Stephanie and Mandi are picking her up. They honk when they get to her house. Anna's mom reminds her of her curfew and gives her the cell phone in case she needs to call. When they get to Cindy's house Anna sees that it is a huge estate on the edge of town. The party is jammed when they get inside the house. Seth finds her and offers to get her a drink. It is going to be a great party. |
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Chapter Sixteen—Hammered
Summary:
More and more people keep coming to the party. Anna is worried about the mess but Cindy assures her that the housekeeper takes care of everything. Seth keeps bringing Anna drinks. She feels light-headed and needs to use the bathroom. When she goes outside to get air everything is fuzzy and she feels sick. She realizes that Seth has spiked her drinks. She heads back to the house to look for a bathroom. She sees Mandi who wants to borrow the cell phone. The bathroom is busy so she sits on the floor and takes deep breaths. Seth comes out but she pushes him aside and bolts into the bathroom and locks the door. She barely makes it before she throws up over and over again. She is angry with Seth and embarrassed that others have seen her like this. |
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Chapter Seventeen—Love Hurts
Summary:
A knock on the door forces Anna to lift her head off the bathroom floor. It is Seth. He is worried about her. She lets him in but is angry that he spiked her drinks without asking. She is not having fun and wants to leave. Seth just wants to talk to her so they go outside and sit on a bench. Seth says he feels bad and did not want Anna to get sick. He just wants her to think he is cool and like him. Anna softens and he kisses her. |
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Chapter Eighteen—Ancient History
Summary:
Anna and Seth sit outside for a long time. She feels better but just wants to sleep. Seth offers to take her home but she wants to tell Stephanie. He tells Anna that Stephanie knows that he is taking care of her. She finds that a little strange. He wraps his sweater around her when she gets cold. Anna's head is throbbing as they walk to the car and she is so sleepy. Anna thinks that Seth should not drive if he has been drinking. He tells her a story about a cousin being killed by a drunk driver. She asks him about Stephanie but he gets angry and says she dumped him for a football player. He tells her he is falling for a new girl. |
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Chapter Nineteen—Devil in Disguise
Summary:
Anna blinks and yawns and realizes that her arm is asleep. The car is stopped and she asks Seth where they are. It is dark and there are no streetlights. He rubs the back of her hand, grabs her arm, and kisses her. She struggles to get away. He pins her against the seat. She screams, scratches his face, and scrambles out of the car. He tells her to find her own way home and leaves her in the dark. She stumbles through a field and remembers the cell phone. But she had let Mandi use it and did not get it back. Finally she sees lights in the distance. It is a car. She is afraid it is Seth and prepares to defend herself. |
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Chapter Twenty—Tough Lessons
Summary:
It is Anna's mother. She starts to worry when it gets close to midnight and calls the cell phone. Mandi answers and says Anna left with a boy; Stephanie gets on the phone and says she is likely at the old rock quarry and probably drunk too! Anna tries to tell her mom she really thought Seth was nice. They drive by a police cruiser that has pulled someone over for drunk driving. It is Seth. He is being tested for drunk driving by walking a line. Anna's mom says he could lose his license if he fails the breathalyzer test. Anna is sick about the lies and deceit. Her mom understands how difficult the changes have been after losing her Gran and moving to a new school. But she will have to learn to make better choices and is grounded for two weeks. |
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Chapter Twenty-One—Hangover
Summary:
Anna wakes up with a massive hangover. She creeps downstairs to get some aspirin. Her mom offers her breakfast, but all she can handle is juice. Her mom figures some of her so-called friends are likely suffering too. Anna reflects on the night. She realizes that Stephanie knows about Seth but did not warn her. When Jennifer phones, Anna does not take the phone. She needs time to think. |
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Chapter Twenty-Two—Trapped
Summary:
Anna hates being grounded. No one calls and, when she calls people, they are not home. When Colleen phones, Anna takes the call. Colleen can sense something is wrong. Anna misses her old friends and tells Colleen the whole story. Colleen, like a true friend, is not angry but offers Anna an ear to listen whenever she wants. The next day, Anna's mother surprises her with new paint for her room—the perfect shade of purple. Anna has a great idea and calls Colleen and Jennifer over for a painting party. The next day at school she sees the girls sitting together. She gets the cell phone back from Mandi, dumps macaroni on Stephanie's head, and looks for a new group of people to join for lunch. |
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After Reading — Post-Reading Reflection
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