A thirteen-year-old girl's relationship with her mother is put to the test as she discovers drugs, sex, and petty crime in the company of her cool but troubled best friend.
At the edge of adolescence, Tracy is a smart straight-A student--if not a little naive (it seems...she smokes and she cuts to alleviate the emotional pain she suffers from having a broken home and hating her mom's boyfriend, Brady.) When she befriends Evie, the most popular and beautiful girl in school, Evie leads Tracy down a path of sex, drugs and petty crime (like stealing money from purses and from stores). As Tracy transforms herself and her identity, her world becomes a boiling, emotional cauldron fueled by new tensions between her and her mother--as well as, teachers and old friends.—Miss Kittin
Tracy is a normal 13-year-old girl trying to make it in school. After befriending a new girl at school, Evie; Tracy's world is turned upside down when Evie introduces Tracy to a world of sex, drugs and cash. But it isn't long before Tracy's new world and attitude finally takes a toll on her, her family, and old friends.—amydumas32
Tracy Freeland is a thirteen-year-old girl who just wants to fit in. To do so she must make friends with the most popular girl in the 7th grade ... Evie Zamora. It's not as easy as it sounds when Evie peer pressures Tracy into doing things such as stealing, drugs, piercings, and sex-- far from the Tracy everybody seems to know. But as Evie and Tracy's friendship gets closer, Tracy's old self drifts farther and farther away from her family and neighborhood friends where it's up to her mother to finally step in.—Shawn Gilson
Tracy is a more unpopular girl who desperately wants to befriend the most popular girl in school Evie. When Evie finally becomes her friend she leads Tracy into a world of drugs, sex, violence, and theft in which her mother can not save her.—Jazmyn
The movie starts out with a girl named Tracy (Evan Rachel Wood) and Evee (Nikki Reed) getting high off a can of hairspray. They both can't feel their faces and slap each other until they are both bloody.
Four months earlier.
13-year-old Tracy Freeland begins her school year as a smart and sweet honor student at a middle school in Los Angeles. Her divorced mother Melanie (Holly Hunter) is a recovering alcoholic, who struggles to support Tracy and her older brother Mason (Brady Corbet) by working as a hairdresser. Tracy feels ignored by her mother, who is too busy with her fellow ex-addict boyfriend Brady (Jeremy Sisto) to address Tracy's increasing depression. After being teased for her "Cabbage Patch" clothes, Tracy decides to shed her 'little girl' image and gets her mother to purchase trendier clothes.
When Tracy wears one of her new outfits to school, she is complimented by Evie Zamora, one of the most popular girls at school. Evie invites Tracy to go shopping on Melrose Avenue in Hollywood but gives her a fake phone number as a prank. Nevertheless, Tracy determinedly shows up on Melrose Avenue and meets up with Evie and her friend Astrid. Tracy is uncomfortable with the two shoplifting and excuses herself to sit outside the store on a bench.
When a distracted rich woman sits next to Tracy, Tracy takes the chance to steal the woman's wallet, which impresses Evie and Astrid. The three go on a shopping spree with the stolen money and Tracy and Evie become fast friends. Evie introduces Tracy to her world of sex, drugs, and criminal activity, much to Tracy's delight. When Evie tells Melanie that her legal guardian/cousin Brooke (Debra Kara Unger) sent her an email, about going to a convention in Bakersfield for two weeks, she temporarily moves into the Freeland household and discovers that Tracy regularly cuts herself to cope with stress. The two promise to stay friends forever and continue with their self destructive exploits. Although Melanie is concerned about the change in Tracy's behavior and worries about the extent of Evie's influence, she cannot find a way to intervene. Melanie attempts to send Evie home but Evie claims her guardian's boyfriend is physically abusive. A torn Melanie reluctantly agrees to let her stay. As Tracy and Evie become closer, Tracy shuts Melanie further out of her life.
Both Evie and Tracy get increasingly out of control, each egging the other on. The pair attempt to seduce Tracy's neighbor Luke (Kip Pardue), a lifeguard in his early twenties, and ditch a family movie night to get high on the streets. Mason is shocked when he bumps into Tracy wearing sexualized clothing, including thong underwear, but Tracy dismisses his concerns. Later on, the girls take turns inhaling from a can of gas duster for computers for fun and become so intoxicated that they hit each other, accidentally drawing blood.
Melanie attempts to break the girl's friendship by sending Tracy to live with her father but he refuses. Meanwhile, Melanie goes over to Brooke's house, with Tracy and Evie, to find out what is going on, because she's been calling Brooke for two weeks. They find that Brooke was hiding because of bad plastic surgery she received. Evie asks Melanie to formally adopt her but Melanie refuses. Tracy meekly supports her mother's decision. Angry and hurt, a tearful Evie storms off.
At school, Evie turns all her friends against Tracy and, depressed, Tracy slowly begins to realize the negative effects of her lifestyle when she is told she might have to repeat the seventh grade. To her surprise, Brady finds her walking home from school and takes her home where Melanie, Evie, and Brooke are sitting quietly in the living room waiting for her.
Brooke confronts Tracy about her drug use and stealing, having been convinced that Tracy was the bad influence by Evie. Outraged, Tracy insists that Evie was the instigator to everything, but the skeptic Brooke refuses to listen and announces that she is moving with Evie to Ojai to keep her away from Tracy. Melanie defends Tracy's innocence but then Brooke pulls Tracy's sleeve up to show Melanie Tracy's self-harm scars, showing that Tracy was troubled long before she ever met Evie. After a screaming match, Brooke and Evie leave. Tracy weeps in Melanie's arms and attempts to fight against her mother's love, but Melanie embraces her and insists that she loves Tracy regardless. Tracy tearfully pleads with Melanie to let go, with no success. The two fall asleep on Tracy's bed.
The last scene shows a dream sequence of Tracy spinning alone and screaming on a park merry-go-round during the daytime (which is a symbol of Tracy regaining her childhood).
