This first book of a trilogy introduces Alexandria, her family, and her friends who are navigating the hormonally charged world of high school hallways and college dorms. Some in the group are looking for hook-ups, but Alex finds love with Chris in her California high school and never looks back. She marries him, and they start a family while attending college. Swirling in her orbit are friends and couples whose lives are chronicled as the group progresses through high school and college.
This book about high school and college-age adults is packed with mature sexual content and offers up an idealized version of lives on the brink of independence and “adulting” in an idealized world that does not seem to be raging with conflict or anguish. While some of the characters have experienced tragedy in their lives, ultimately Rutherford places them in a world full of possibilities and happy endings. The author captures the millennial spirit of forming a "squad," or a group of like-minded and supportive friends, with which to move through the world. With an ear for dialogue, he lets his characters do the talking, and the minutia of daily life is on display through the conversations among a cast of multi-ethnic supporting characters.
Rutherford also specializes in action-packed sequences expertly executed when Chris begins competing as a professional wrestler. The wrestling scenes are full of maneuvers, holds, ambushes, and ringside soap opera drama. The sports subplot does not overshadow the romance and lust that drives most of the action in the book. Relationships are at the heart of this romantic drama, and readers can follow this group into the next phase of their lives after college when the trilogy continues.