Gabby's mum died when she was three, and while she tells everyone she's okay because she doesn't remember her, there are unresolved issues - things she can't even tell her new best friend Taylor. Gabby's mom took an overdose, a fact Gabby has blamed herself for, but she eventually learns that her parents had just separated, and her mom couldn't cope. The book runs the full gamut of Gabby's 12 year old emotions - from her learning to like her dad's girl friend Cleo, to starting her periods, to having to cope with Cleo's temporary absence from their lives, to a trip to New York City with her older brother to try to sort out their ghosts from the past. When all the facts about her mom's death come out, she and Ian are able to move on. Gabby learns that mums are not always as supportive as she would like to think (Taylor finds her mom difficult), and she learns a great deal about adult relationships too. This is a meaty novel about a girl on the cusp of womanhood, who must learn what emotions can do to adults and how to cope with them.