"Oh, no!" cried Mary Anne Spier. "Please tell me you're not going to make that." She was staring down at the health food cookbook I held in my lap. Her eyes were wide with horror. "Dawn, I really don't think anyone will want to eat tofu apple nut loaf at this party," she added.

"Okay," I said, flipping through the pages. "We could try this one. Soybean pie."

Mary Anne sighed deeply. "Soybeans in a pie? I bet there's not even a teaspoon of sugar in it, either."

"Nope. Honey."

"You and I have totally different taste buds," said Mary Anne, as she plopped down into the chair next to mine. "Let me look at this book. Maybe I can find something in here that isn't completely gross."

It was the day before New Year's Eve, and we were in our kitchen, deciding what to serve

at our New Year's Eve sleepover party. I'm using the word our because Mary Anne and I live together (along with our parents, of course). We're stepsisters. But before we became stepsisters, we were best friends.

Maybe I'd better start at the beginning. First let me introduce myself. My name is Dawn Schafer. I'm originally fromCalifornia . Awhile ago I moved here toStoneybrook,Connecticut , with my mother and my younger brother, Jeff.

Mom came back to Stoneybrook after she and my dad got divorced. Stoneybrook is where she grew up. Pop-pop and Granny (Mom's parents) still live here. I guess that made Mom feel a little more secure, since the divorce was hard on her at first.

Unfortunately, Mom was the only one who was happy about the move. Jeff and I missedCalifornia like crazy. I missed my friends and the warm weather, and everything Cali-fornian.

There was only one thing I liked about Stoneybrook right from the start. Our house. It was built in 1795. Can you imagine? The doorways are low, the stairways are narrow, and the rooms are small and dark. It is the total opposite of the sunny ranch-style house we left back inCalifornia . But for some reason