Despite having sat next to each other at school Kate and Mark have never spoken until they independently head to San Francisco and their evenings fall apart. Kate is finally to meet the girl she has loved from afar but Kate runs away and Mark is shattered that his best friend does not have romantic feelings for him. The two meet in a bar and very quickly develop a deep friendship. Told through the eyes of Kate and Mark in alternating chapters, the novel deals with issues of relationships, self-identity, sexual identity, friendship, and the rocky course from leaving high school to becoming an adult. Useful for literature circles, independent reading, and inquiry- or project-based units on self-identity.