"Something, Maybe", Elizabeth Scott

Something, Maybe is the story of 17-year-old loner Hannah James who attempts to live through her teenage years in the most invisible way she can, escaping the notoriety forced upon her by her irresponsible parents. Her father, who she hasn't seen in five years, is a Hugh Hefner-type womanizer with his own Playboy house and reality television show. Her mother Candy was one of the "special girls" in the house for two years, kicked out at 21 and pregnant with Hannah. Hannah struggles to separate herself from the lives and images of her parents by trying to attract the attention of a popular, society-conscious boy at her high school.

The story has two love arcs; Hannah's relationship with her parents, mostly her mother, and her relationships with her co-workers, Josh and Finn, at a Burger World call center (drive-thru calls get out-sourced).

In the first arc, Hannah is the responsible member of the mother-daughter duo, making sure their bills get paid and her mother takes care of herself, in one scene, she tugs down her mother's skirt while they are grocery shopping. The two had had a chance at a normal, happy life with a the love of her mother's life, Jose, a tow truck driver who had rescued her mom on an Los Angeles highway. A few years into their marriage, Jose dies of cancer and her mother has a breakdown. They move to Slaterville, and her mom returns to making money the only way she knows how (chatting via webcam in her lingerie about her life in the Playboy house), and ignoring her pain. When she is confronted suddenly with Hannah's love life, she breaks down, cautioning Hannah against love because of the pain she experienced losing her soulmate.

Hannah and her father haven't spoken in five years, since she asked to move into his house after the death of her stepfather and he refused, via his secretary, who handles all his interactions with people while he listens on a third line. He forces himself back into her life, promising time "just the two of them" to right the past, but it turns into a publicity stunt to raise the ratings for his television show. Broken-hearted, Hannah returns home and hides in her room for the weekend.

This incident does provide an "in" for Hannah in the second arc. Her crush on her co-worker Josh is fruitless until this point, when he encourages her to blow off work with him and hang out at her house. When he comes over, her world is flipped again when she finds out that he isn't interested in her, but her mom. She runs away from the awkwardness of it all by going to work and confiding in Finn, her other co-worker, whom she has been gradually noticing in a more romantic way through the book. They end up making out on the floor and caught by someone else they work with. They avoid talking about what happened, and Hannah runs out as soon as their shift is over. Finn visits her later that night, where they talk briefly about their feelings for one another and get caught making out by her mother.

The last chapter shows a Hannah no longer duped by appearances as she has been by her father and Josh and ready to start a relationship with Finn, whom she describes as "real" in the conversation with her mother.


If this were a movie: PG-13 for cursing from football player characters, nudity, sensuality of Hannah's parents lifestyles, make out scenes with Hannah/Finn