How to Deal (New Line Platinum Series)

Mandy Moore stars as Halley, a young hip high school student who believes that love will never happen to her and that her life is a mess. Her father is marrying a woman she can't stand, her mother is alone, her sister's wedding plans are taking over her life and her friends at school only care about cheerleading and football. All seems lost until she meets a boy who shows her what love is all about.

Teen idol Mandy Moore (A Walk to Remember) learns how to deal with an awful lot--How to Deal crams divorce, teen pregnancy, a wedding, a car accident, and a pot-smoking grandmother into a single year in the life of Halley Martin (Moore). Halley's so resentful of her parents' divorce (and her father's impending remarriage) that she resolves not to fall in love--so of course a hunky guy named Macon (Trent Ford) decides that she's the girl for him and woos her with gentle persistence. Two things save all of this from being a teenage soap opera: First, a refreshingly realistic (though not explicit) and unjudgmental look at teenage sex; second, a sterling supporting cast, including Allison Janney (The West Wing), Peter Gallagher (sex, lies, and videotape), and Dylan Baker (Happiness), alongside pleasant young actors like Alexandra Holden (Sugar and Spice). --Bret Fetzer