In the first line of Xanthe’s Pyramid, we’re immediately assaulted by that eternal pubescent lament – “You don’t trust me.” Mom and our 16-year-old protagonist are in a pitched battle because Xanthe broke curfew with her seriously inappropriate boyfriend, Colton. With all the seething righteousness of the near-guilty, Xanthe explodes in the face of her mother’s frantic accusations. She storms to her room to sulk and cradle the glass pyramid that Colton gave her for Christmas.

Her mother used to be loving and kind but that was before Colton. Her dad remains good-natured. Her older brother, Neil, is sympathetic, plus he possesses that most valuable of qualities – a pile of attractive friends. All in all, Xanthe feels trapped and isolated in what appears to be a blessedly functional family. The crunch comes when she’s caught sneaking in at 3:30 a.m. and she’s grounded.

Ishbel Moore follows Xanthe for one intensive week, cleverly using each day as chapter headings with times as sub-headings. At first she lies and manages to meet Colton, but, as time wears on, his loner appeal starts to wane. He alternates increasingly between being needy and aggressive and then, smothering and violent. Is he really worth all this grief? Adding fuel to Xanthe’s doubt is her new-found appeal to Neil’s three best friends. Moore has the tension and hormones build by the hour until everything culminates in a Saturday birthday party on day six.

Aside from making us wonder what Xanthe is going to do, Moore also intrigues us with small mysteries. What is her mother’s secret? Who is stalking Xanthe? What did she wish for in the pyramid? Though lightly sketched, the major players are believable, particularly the perpetually indignant Xanthe. The constant mother/daughter bickering is grating – the literary equivalent of white noise – but it rings true as do scenes of burgeoning arousal and confusion. Teenage angst is skillfully rendered by this increasingly adept and confident writer. Xanthe’s Pyramid follows Moore’s very digestible Dolina May. Both are engaging page-turners for the romance-starved mature YA market.