Bad Girls with Perfect Faces

Although not graphically described, a girl is murdered, stuffed in a trunk, and then dumped.

Characters have sex for all the wrong reasons (e.g., to lure someone back into a relationship); it's never described in any detail.

Lots and lots of profanity: "f--k," "d--ks," "p---y," goddam," "s--t," "c--t."

These teen characters don't simply have a beer or a couple of drinks, they finish off bottles, take pills with alcohol, and pass out drunk. The main characters would all be candidates for intervention and a stay in rehab.

Parents need to know that Bad Girls with Perfect Faces by Lynn Weingarten (Suicide Notes from Beautiful Girls) is a dark psychological thriller about high schoolers Sasha, her best friend, Xavier, and his cheating ex-girlfriend, Ivy. While Sasha knows what a "good girl" would do when Ivy lures Xavier back into a relationship, she admits that, "Bad girls know there is no right and wrong. There is just what you're willing to do. What you need to do. Here is what I did." What she does is set into play a series of events that will unintentionally lead to a murder and its cover-up. Told from three points of view -- those of Sasha, Xavier, and a third character whose identity is revealed only at the end of the book -- this is a cautionary tale about a right motive gone terribly wrong. While sexual encounters are not graphically described, characters drink often and to excess, and there's lots of profanity ( "f--k," "p---y," "goddam," "c--t."). It's best suited for mature readers and as a vehicle for a discussion with parents about the life-changing price that can be paid for rash behavior and terrible choices.