Packer tells the story of two girls, 15 and 16, day students in an English boarding school, whose relationship ends with the murder of one of their mothers. You know that on page one -- no spoilers from me! Packer frames the whole book with a set of statements from trial witnesses, newspaper articles, and so on, interspersed with the detailed story of the two girls relationship, jumping back and forth between their first meeting and the fateful days leading up to the murder. These parts of the book are very effective and the girls' increasing descent into fantasy, which they use as a pretext for advancing their own passion for each other, is fascinating and fairly convincing. Still, the author doesn't quite make the leap from their "evil friendship" to murder totally convincing. And the book's framework detracts from the intensity of the girls' story. This book was published as a titillating novel of young lesbians--which it certainly isn't, but maybe the clinical and legal testimony is intended to provide some defense against anyone trying to have the book banned for lack of meaningful content. Thankfully, we don't have to worry about that today, at least I hope not! Packer (real name Marijane Meeker) is too good a writer to be cast into such a pit. She does an excellent job of entering into the thoughts of the two main characters, and it is those insights, rather than the comments of the book's psychiatrists, that will stick with us long after we are finished reading. ( )