What I remember most about this book: being SUPER EXCITED to finally meet Lila's mother! In fact, I'm pretty sure that the first SVH book I bought after I gave away my original collection was #98, but we'll get to that when we get to that.

First of all, let me say that I'm still pretty damned impressed with the writing in this book. It is just as strong as A Night to Remember, which is no small feat, because that book was pretty impressive on its own and hard to follow up. But this one picks up right where the last one left off, even if the title is a complete and utter misnomer.

By my count, there at least six plots happening at the same time, so let's dig right in, starting with the happiest of the bunch:

(1) Olivia Davidson is probably the only person at SVH who's not under the collective cloud of depression after the disastrous Jungle Prom. This is likely because she actually has outside interests that she can turn to, in order to get away from the surreality of it all. She is taking a night class in watercolors at Forester Art School, a class she had to be selected for on the strength of her portfolio. One evening, she learns that her work (out of the entire class) has been chosen for a school-wide art exhibit. Then she receives even better news: someone wants to buy her painting for $1,000! The buyer has requested that she give a speech at a gathering of the Coastal California Art Foundation, which is apparently located in a residential section of Bridgewater. Olivia arrives, only to discover that she's meeting the buyer of her artwork, a fellow student named Harry Minton. He'd thought up this elaborate ruse so that he could speak to her alone instead of just, like, saying something to her in class. Olivia forgives his creepiness because she thinks he's cute and funny, but IDK. Maybe it's because I am An Old, but I didn't find this nearly as meet-cute as it was apparently supposed to be. But hey, good for Olivia! Apparently she hasn't dated since her boyfriend moved to Paris to study art (a plotline that has completely escaped my memory), so good on her for getting some happiness in this otherwise gloomy world!

(2) Olivia and Nicholas Morrow are apparently good friends, and they spend some time in this book commisterating over their lack of a social life. I'd also forgotten that Nicholas and Andrea Slade were A Thing, but now they're over and Nicholas is wondering what he's doing wrong because he can't get a date to save his life. After Olivia shares her happy meet-cute story with him one morning at breakfast, she spies an ad for a new dating game called HUNKS, which is casting about for contestants ages 18-25. Nicholas told Olivia he'd take even a bizarre way to meet a new girl, so she takes him at his word and decides to sign him up. Steven Wakefield is also aware of HUNKS, having mentioned it earlier in the book and that they were advertising at SVU to rustle up contestants, so obviously this is going to be our ongoing comic relief plotline in this miniseries. My question is, why did they have to pick on poor Nicholas for this??

(3) Bruce Patman is on the look out for the dream girl that saved him from getting his head bashed in during the riot after the Jungle Prom. He finally deduces that she's likely a Big Mesa student, so he actually goes to the high school and hangs around, hoping for a glimpse of her. He learns her name after asking some students about her, including that she's on the tennis team (swoon!). She's actually at a tournament at the start of the book, so he has to wait a whole week to meet her, but when he finally does, she's just about everything he could've ever dreamed of. She's gorgeous, sleek, beautiful, modest, and a great tennis player. The two go out a couple of times and enjoy themselves, but Bruce soon starts hearing some rather snide remarks about Pamela's reputation, including a downright nasty accusation from Amy Sutton. He tries to dismiss these from his mind, but unfortunately comes up against it when he shows up unannounced at Pamela's house one morning, only to see her drive up in a gold Trans Am with her clothes and hair mussed, and some other dude grabbing her and kissing her. This little display has sealed Easy Pammy as The Slut in Bruce's mind and he stomps off before she can offer an explanation (but not before she declares her love for him after three dates).

(4) Lila is in real trouble after making her false accusation against Nathan Pritchard. Apparently the meeting between Lila, Nathan, Chrome Dome, and her father is the first that Mr Fowler has heard about any of this, and he is supremely confused. Lila didn't tell him about her trouble with John Pfeifer or that she was seeking counseling, and she has drawn even further away since she admitted that he didn't attack her at the prom. Lila has stopped going to school, talking to her friends, showering, or do anything other than sitting at her bedroom window and contemplating jumping into the swimming pool at Fowler Crest. She feels lost, helpless, and confused, and wishes nothing more than to have a mother she could confide in. George independently comes to the same conclusion and Makes the Call to Paris to get in touch with his ex-wife about their daughter. Lila is so happy when he tells her that Grace is coming back that she flies into his arms and cries. George cries, too. It's all very sweet, but I did not miss the part where George muses that he sent Grace away when Lila was a baby. Why did he do this??

(5) If Lila is depressed, Jessica is in deep mourning. She couldn't bear to attend Sam's funeral, and backs out at the last minute from going to the memorial services being held at the big dirtbike rally in Sam's honor. She visits his grave for the first time and just comes completely apart. She is incredibly sad, and also incredibly guilty. She acknowledges that she is ultimately responsible for Sam's death, as much as she wants to blame Liz, because she spiked the punch. She knows what she did, and she watches her parents stand by Liz and feels like if they knew the truth, they'd hate her for what she did to their 'good' daughter. The passages about Jessica are absolutely heart-wrenching to read. She, too, has withdrawn from her friends and her family - the only person who seems to care is Todd, but she hasn't recognized this...yet.

(6) Liz has absolutely no memory of what happened at the prom, or after. She's having nightmares about the accident, and is out of school for a week. Jessica is no longer speaking to her, and neither is Todd. Liz feels hurt, alone, and confused. She knows that she is responsible for Sam's death, and is expecting the law to eventually come down on her, too. She doesn't know why Todd has turned away from her, but his silence hurts, on top of everything else. At the end of this book, the police arrive to question her. They tell her that both her and Sam's blood alcohol levels were well above the legal limit, and that it's obvious from the position of his body at the crash site, that Liz was driving the Jeep. They put her under arrest for involuntary manslaughter, but because she is a Wakefield (her father being a prominent and well-respected attorney) and an honor student, the police agree to let her father drive her to the station for the booking, making the cover of the next book a life. Jessica is strangled with guilt and grief during this meeting (convinced that the police are there for her, because they know she spiked the punch), but says nothing.

The Wakefield family has completely fallen apart, with only Steven, home on weekends, still trying to hold everyone together. Mr and Mrs Wakefield are, perhaps naturally, at a loss of what to do for their daughters, who refuse to speak to each other or much to them. Perhaps this is realistic at this point - they don't want to take sides when the wounds are still so raw for both girls and risk isolating one or both of them. Liz's arrest, however, is going to bring this to a head.

Liz is also having a disturbing, recurring dream about meeting her twin at Secca Lake, only this twin has long dark hair, ice cold eyes, and is wielding a knife at her.

(7) We are introduced to Margo in this book, as a sullen teen living in the basement of a ramshackle house on Long Island with her foster family, whom she despises. She's been in foster care all her life and is extremely cynical about it. No one has ever cared about her and she's hardened her heart accordingly. She wants nothing more than to escape and forge her own path in life, and she's been slowly building up a cache of money by stealing from her current guardians. She has a little six-year-old foster sibling, Nina, who at turns adores and is terrified of her. Margo also gets nasty headaches and hears a raspy voice in her head, urging her to get out. She momentarily contemplates taking Nina with her but quickly squashes the notion. Instead, she lives Nina alone and hungry one night with a malfunctioning toaster and a butter knife. Margo disguises herself, locks all the doors from the outside, and walks away as the house erupts in flames. She sticks around long enough to figure out if anyone will miss her (they only found the charred remains of the little girl, not the teenager), then takes the bus to Cleveland for the next step in her plan.

In Cleveland, she is hired as a baby-sitter/au pair for little Georgie Rossi. Margo spins a sob story about losing her parents and moving to Cleveland to live with a sister, and needing the money for community college. Mrs Rossi is a complete pushover, and gives her money in advance. Margo also filches a ring from the wealthy Shaker Heights home. She scares Georgie into submission on the first afternoon, and makes a decision to stay away from Georgie's cute bad boy older brother, Josh. At the end of the book, she hears a train whistle, and the raspy voice tells her to head for California. Southern California, where it's warm and the beaches are golden, and she vows to do just that.

That's a lot of plot to pack into 3 1/2 weeks of time and a 215 page book. All of the plot strands are given equal time in the forefront, and it's just really nicely done. Whoever planned this series really put some thought into it, which is perhaps why it is TGMOAT =) ( )