How Good It Can Be: 10th Anniversary Edition

Contemporary Young Adult/Teen novel How Good It Can Be is the coming-of-age story of 17-year old Emma Saffron, just as her heart's been zipped open to romance and sexual experience, betrayal and duplicity, and eventually, victory. Emma is every girl — an everyday girl that extraordinary things happen to — and they can happen to you, too.

When Blake Worthing asks Emma Saffron out, she can't believe it. A new student who's been awesomely labeled a 'prep-school-boy-gone-bad,' he's already infamous in their otherwise boring Midwestern suburb. Emma is warned, but she's not listening. She's been noticed by someone who doesn't know that up until now, all she's been famous for is studying, and it makes her want to give up everything for Blake.

One thing Blake never talks about is why he left prep school. An aspiring journalist, Emma knows there's more to his story. As she uncovers the truth, then watches Blake's downward spiral, Emma begins to question if it's really worth being his girlfriend, even if she lost her virginity to him. Blake screwed up big time, and she might be on the road to ruin, too.