With six teenage girls living under one roof, things are bound to get interesting. Mix six teenaged girls and one ’60s fashion icon (retired, of course) in an old Victorian-era boarding home. Add guys and dating, a little high-school angst, and huge personalities … and you’ve got the Carter House Girls. As school begins, it becomes clear some of the Carter House girls are determined to make their mark. Eliza and Taylor quickly start moving up the social ranks, and Eliza begins seeing Harry, the son of one of the richest families in Crescent Cover. When Taylor decides to put the moves on Bradford, Rhiannon's cute jock boyfriend, Rhiannon is shocked and hurt. The girls in the house begin to take sides, and as mistakes and made and feelings hurt, some girls' ability to forgive and forget will be severely tested. Melody Carlson has written more than 200 books for teens, women, and children. Before publishing, Melody traveled around the world, volunteered in teen ministry, taught preschool, raised two sons, and worked briefly in interior design and later in international adoption. "I think real-life experiences inspire the best fiction," she says. Her wide variety of books seems to prove this theory. Stealing Bradford Carter House Girls By Melody Carlson ZONDERVAN Copyright © 2008 Melody Carlson All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-0-310-74654-6 CHAPTER 1 "I'm sorry, but my car's just not big enough for all the girls," announced Eliza as they were finishing breakfast. She pushed a glossy strand of blonde hair away from her face and then took a slow sip of coffee. As usual, Eliza was stylishly dressed, her hair and makeup absolutely perfect, and she looked ready to make her big debut at Crescent Cove High today. "And I've already reserved my ride with Eliza," said Taylor a bit too smugly. She too was perfection—at least on the surface. But DJ was well aware that looks can be deceiving. Eliza smiled at DJ now. "And I told Kriti she could ride with me too ... which only leaves room for one more." Eliza and DJ hadn't really spoken since last night when they'd made their splashy entrance into Harry's beach-house party together. A few hours and a lifetime later, DJ had left the party and driven all the girls (except Taylor and Eliza who weren't ready to go) back to the Carter House in her grandmother's car. They barely made it home before curfew, and DJ felt certain that the party-hardy girls, Taylor and Eliza, got back quite a bit later than that. Although, as far as DJ knew, Mrs. Carter hadn't said a word. Naturally, this double standard aggravated DJ. Not that it was unexpected since her grandmother clearly favored those two, but it did seem a bad omen for the year ahead. Still, DJ was determined not to complain. Because today was not only the first day of school, it was also the first day following DJ's amazing life-changing episode on the beach last night. And she didn't want to blow it by getting mad. "School's not that far away," pointed out Rhiannon. "I don't mind walking. That's how I used to get there." DJ had walked to school last year as well. And she wouldn't mind walking today, except that she had on a new pair of Michael Kors shoes—ones that Eliza had coaxed her to buy, telling her they would be perfect for the first day of school. Now DJ wondered if she should run upstairs and change them. Maybe she should change her whole outfit and go back to her old style of casual grunge sportswear. Although she knew that would upset her grandmother, not to mention Eliza. "I will drive the other girls to school today," proclaimed Mrs. Carter with a loud sigh. DJ could tell that her grandmother was not pleased with this setup. Still, wasn't this her own fault for boarding this many girls? She should've considered there might be transportation problems down the line. Eliza smiled at DJ now. "So, do you want to ride with us then?" DJ glanced over at Casey and Rhiannon. These two still looked like the Carter House misfits, although at least Rhiannon was trying. Casey, on the other hand, could clearly not care less. DJ briefly considered abandoning them to ride with Eliza—in the cool car. And maybe she would've done just that yesterday. But today things were different. She was different. And so she simply shook her head. "No, that's okay, Eliza. I can ride with my grandmother today." Eliza frowned. "Are you sure?" "Yeah, but thanks anyway." DJ could tell that Eliza was not happy about her choice. And she suspected that Eliza had hoped to make a flashy entrance this morning, probably with Taylor on one side and DJ on the other—maybe with Kriti trailing slightly behind them like a handmaid. And, of course, Eliza probably hoped that Rhiannon and Casey, who did not measure up to her fastidious fashion standards, would lag somewhere far, far behind. "Well, I'm going up to put on my finishing touches," said Eliza lightly. "And then I'll be ready." As if on cue, the breakfast table began to vacate. And before long