Sylvia always hated her average looks and her strict mother. She just wanted to enjoy her teenage years and hang with her friends, and did what she had to do to get boys' attention. The only thing she liked about high school was getting to see her crush, Dub, the twin brother of not-so-nice Deuce.

When her sneaking out and defying her mother's rules results in her winding up pregnant at fifteen, she learns who her real friends are. And with her mother never missing a chance to remind her how she's messed up her life, Sylvia vows that she would be the total opposite of her mother, and her child will grow up to the best friend she apparently didn't have.

But years later, when her daughter Candy is fifteen and has no interest in being her friend, Sylvia just tries harder to force the kind of mother-daughter relationship she always wished she'd had herself. She ignores the constant advice that she needs to be her children's mother, not their friend. Candy is turning out to be just like Sylvia was, and when Sylvia's son Valencio starts behaving less like her golden child and more like another problem child, Sylvia slowly starts to realize that she had gone about everything all wrong. All the while, Sylvia still has her crush on Dub, is still being mistreated by Deuce, ignores her son's father Bryce, and battles the growing realization that she just hasn't done much with her life, and her daughter is following right in her footsteps. But when she tries to start laying down the law, things only get worse, and Sylvia realizes she really does need to make some major changes with herself. But is it too late?

**CW: This book contains scenes of attempted kidnapping, drugs, and teenage sex.