Gingerbread by Rachel Cohn

Cyd is a mad at the world, at her mother, at her "real" daddy skips school, out of control wild child. she claims to not really know why. She is daddy's special girl. Her younger sibs are cute and fun to watch, her mom not so bad. She throws herself at any guy she considers a hunk that is older than she and willing. There are teens like this, totally contrary. I find them unbearable not funny as the reviews say. Plus, even though the story is a quick read and probably something other disenfranchised teens could relate to - they would never accept my or any other adult's recommendation so this has to be discovered and passed around among themselves.
When Cyd makes everyone's life unbearable after she is grounded for skipping school, staying out too late, sneaking out of the house... she is shipped off to her biological father which is just what she wants. In her time there, she suddenly grows up, stops raging, reconciles with her mother, solves the problem with skipping school, decides on her future, decides not to hit on any more older guys, based on...not sure what. The wrap up is way to fast and shallow for the rest of the book. I will say this, Cyd got herself "in trouble" with her wild behavior while away at boarding school. She took care of the problem without help from mom or real dad, without their even knowing. Both the abortion and her lack of information about her biological dad seem to be keys to her behavior. Oh, throughout the book she relates to a ragdoll she calls gingerbread as if it is a living friend. I have seen this before in real life but the kid was emotionally disturbed and unable, not unwilling to relate to the non-imaginary world. jdw 10/29/08