"A family secret forces a gawky teen to grow up quickly. Presley begins to question whom she can trust.and her school friends bail out when her problems extend beyond gym class." Kirkus Reviews

"Presley's voice comes through with a believable mixture of confusion, innocence, and growing wisdom." Library Journal

As a lowly freshman, Presley Moran walks high-school corridors paved with the stuff of family legend. Her cousin, Barry, a senior heartthrob and brainy varsity letterman, insists that looking good on paper is the key to success. But Presley's young aunt Betsi, a former homecoming queen, has her own ideas about good looks and how to use them.

"Can you keep a secret?" Betsi asks Presley, who, at age fourteen, is eager to enter the adult world of beauty, attraction, and romance. But as Presley is about to discover, some secrets should never be revealed. Will the illicit thrill of being a trusted confidante be worth the consequences of guilt by association?

Propelled by the crash of falling idols, The Girl I Wanted to Be is a timeless and true portrait of passion, loss, and hard-won wisdom.