Jodie has been a comlete horror on the family trip to California. Resenting her parents divorce and her dad's subsequent taking up with Melissa and her son Matt, she has made life unpleasant for everyone. When they arrive at their holiday cottage, dad and Melissa go off to find food, and Jodie and Matt are left alone to deal with an earthquake. The aftershocks of the quake are far worse than the initial quake, and as the two teenagers face death, Jodie comes to terms with the aftershocks of her own emotional destructiveness. A powerful, short novel that deals effectively with emotional upheaval. Realistic black and white illustrations.