"The "trans" epidemic sweeping teenage girls. Until just a few years ago, gender dysphoria -- severe discomfort in one's biological sex -- was vanishingly rare. It was typically found in less than .01 percent of the population, emerged in early childhood, and afflicted males almost exclusively. But today whole groups of female friends in colleges, high schools, and even middle schools across the country are coming out as "transgender." These are girls...

"Stranded in a volatile, ever-shifting family, saddled with a mercurial mother mired in crack addiction, and demeaned daily for his perceived weakness, Joseph Earl Thomas was under constant threat. Roaches fell from the ceiling, colonizing bowls of noodles and cereal boxes. Fists and palms pounded down at school and at home, leaving welts that ached long after they disappeared. An inescapable hunger gnawed at his frequently empty stomach, and requests...

As the Walsh twins, Brandon and Brenda, learn their way around a town where kids grow up fast, both they and their friends Dylan, Kelly, Donna, Steve, Andrea and David experience the highs and lows of love, lust, and loss.