"Hating Alison Ashley" is a coming-of-age story about teenagers dealing with their self-inflicted angst, their embarrassing parents, their friends, and those they would call their enemies. Erica Yurken's life sucks: her family is an embarrassment, her acting genius is unrecognized, and her surname has landed her with the nickname "Yuk". So from the moment that perfect Alison Ashley arrives at school, Yuk knows that there will be trouble. She has always felt superior to everyone at Barringa East, but Alison is everything that Yuk has ever wanted to be.