As Beautiful as It Seems

To the outside world, best friends Ariana, Kiara, and Jade have it all: they're queens of the sophomore class, know all the best parties, and have the attention of some sexy upperclassmen. Their reality is a different story. No one sees Ariana's crippling anxiety. Besides making top grades, she's perfected making it to the bathroom before she faints from hyperventilating. That is, until the hottest senior alive takes an interest in her. Kiara is known to space out. She's usually daydreaming about her wonderful boyfriend (and her first time with him) or giggling at a joke she made in her head. But lately, Kiara's mind has become a place of nightmares as she develops obsessive thoughts around weight loss. Jade has mastered deflecting with humor—she's had to with the awful rumors that blaze through the hallways about her. When she becomes interested in the same boy as a notoriously bitchy junior, she must watch her back at every turn. Inspired by the adage, "Everyone is fighting a battle you know nothing about," As beautiful as it seems dips in and out of the darker sides of high school while maintaining a lighthearted tone. After all, as Jade would say, if you can't laugh at life, what's the point?