Just Ask! — Melody Carlson

Thursday, September 1
I've been saving for my own car, but my parents decided that I can only get a car if I keep a clean driving record. That means absolutely NO tickets -- period -- nada. And the policeman said he'd clocked me going 72 in a 55 mile zone. Oops.

When Kim Peterson gets a speeding ticket, her dad offers her a way to retain her driving privileges. If she'll write the anonymous teen advice column for his newspaper, she can still get a car. So Kim becomes "Jamie" of "Just Ask Jamie." No big deal, she thinks.

She answers letters about stuff that's everyday and stuff that's not: parents, piercings, dating, drugs, depression, and people who are just users. Nothing Kim can't handle.

But when a classmate is killed, the letters turn to questions about life, death, and what it all means. And Kim starts to wonder if she really does have all the answers -- and if not, where to find them. The Christian faith of her adoptive family? The Buddhism of her Korean heritage? Who can she turn to -- to just ask?