Poor, dear Cindy Bixby is a total loser. Has been all her life. But now as she enters college, Cindy hopes to shed her loser ways — get some friends and maybe even (dare she think it?) get a boyfriend. Her first move out of loserdom: pledge Alpha Beta Delta.

There Cindy meets Meri Sugarman. Meri is not only beautiful, she controls the sorority, a position that gives Meri more power than...well, maybe not God, but certainly any person within a one-hundred-mile radius. (How, you ask? Think of today's technology and what you could do with it if you were so (illegally) inclined. Get the picture? ;-) )

Meri teaches Cindy that she, too, can be perfect. She can be beautiful, sexy, and popular, influence teachers and politicians, and even have a boyfriend!

But when the new Cindy crosses into Meri-only territory (hint: where there's trouble, look for boy), new — very scary — Meri emerges. And Cindy realizes that behind all that beauty is an evil beast that must be stopped.

"In screenwriter Apostolina's offbeat debut novel, Cindy Bixby goes to college and believes that joining Alpha Beta Delta sorority is a 'once-in-a-lifetime chance' to go from loser to popular girl. But sadistic sorority president Meri Sugarman shows her that sisterhood has a price (Cindy not only has to do shots, but also pose as a prostitute). After her initiation, Cindy gets a taste of the good life — she no longer needs to take tests, and when she says she wants to be a cheerleader, Meri makes it happen instantly. But when Keith, Meri's ex-boyfriend, kisses Cindy, it's all-out war between the sisters. This is an intriguing premise — the sorority sisters wield power using 'the Hoover File,' which contains dirt on everyone, including the dean. And the story, which unspools via Cindy's journal entries, boasts a memorable supporting cast (including Cindy's sister, who becomes a pop star with a dirty song called 'Tune My Motor Up,' and the heroine's overweight roommate, who diagnoses everyone's psychological disorders, including her own 'hypertension, borderline personality disorder, [and] panic attacks'). But while readers will root for Cindy when she and a band of misfits try to tear Meri down, they may be disturbed by some of the plot points (Meri forces Cindy to accuse Keith of date rape, for example). In the end, this is a surprising, dark and ultimately uneven novel, but readers will likely find enough amusing and bizarre material to keep them going. Ages 14-up." Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)