After his mother and sister move out, thirteen-year-old Casey begins to realize that his father's drinking problem is more than he can handle and that the intervention his aunt suggests may be the best way to help.
Discusses how and why people may become addicted to drugs or alcohol, the effects such addictions can have on family members and friends, and ways to get help.
Life at the Carter house is in an uproar, with Taylor coming home from rehab treatment, Kriti developing a possible eating disorder, and Eliza creating competition between the girls for the New York debut at Spring Fashion Week.
Living in London, fourteen-year-old Shelley writes letters to a pop star which describe her life with friends and family, including her divorced alcoholic mother, and her struggles with a school bully.
Abused by her alcoholic father, Kathy runs away to her grandparents. She eventually comes to realize that her reformed father needs help rather than censure.
Now a high school junior, Joseph Flood contends with grief over his late cousin Jasmine, his mother's addictions and pleas for money, the distance between himself and his father in Iraq, making the tennis team, and a new relationship.
After a Winter Ball that was a mix of fun and worry, seventeen-year-old DJ sets aside her hope for a quiet Christmas and joins Taylor in Las Vegas, although she fears she will do nothing but try to keep her roommate out of trouble.
