i really like this, but am due for a re-read, because I can't remember exactly what i liked about it, just that i did like it...
[update]: oh good lord - claire and i saw haven kimmel read last night, which was glorious. I have a total girl-crush on anyone who talk about the eschatology of john ashcroft one minute, and the next minute tell a hilarious anecdote about being on the morning show and trying to make katie couric look smart. which brings me to this book (which is now autographed "To Cat from the Flat Green Fields of Indiana - Haven Kimmel") - this book contains some of the most heartbreaking, character-building lines ever. This is one of my favorites: "This was a mystery to Cassie, how the true nature of a person can be so thoroughly concealed in youth that he does humiliating things. It meant Cassie herself could do them, and later someone would hold out the offending object - a dress, a party favor, an unsent letter - and convict her." please read it - you won't regret it!