My Life As a Girl

It's the long, hot summer between high school and college, and Jaime Cody is working a double shift. Days at a greasy spoon called Franklin's All-American Diner; night at the Phoenix, a restaurant at a glitzy resort. She's hoping to earn the college money her father stole from her -- and leave herself no time to think.

A whole country lies between where Jaime is -- Arizona -- and where she wants to be -- Bryn Mawr, a college for women in Pennsylvania. The jobs mean the difference between mak...