okayWhen two popular girls, Victoria and Rachel, start acting friendly towards her, BJ can't believe her good luck. She starts hanging out with them more and more. She fails to notice that her best friend Alex is having problems of his own, fighting to keep his band together and secretly struggling to come to terms with his orientation.
The beginning of the book is actually the ending, showing a grief-stricken BJ dealing with the aftermath of a horrific event. The story then rewinds, revealing BJ's upbringing, her friendship with Alex, and a betrayal which no one expected.
The story moves along very quickly, a great selling point for reluctant readers. In the Garage is told in alterating chapters, with BJ's thoughts written in first-person prose while Alex's thoughts are shared through his poetic journal entries, which should attract readers of both genders. The dual narrative will be appreciated by those who enjoyed Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan, while the plot regarding the dark side of the high school social scene will intrigue fans of What Happened to Lani Garver by Carol Plum-Ucci.
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