Maddy Washington had lived a sheltered life with her father. He was trying to protect her from some dark family secrets (his mother had telekinetic abilities) and make sure she was raised with the good word. When she was older, she was forced to go to public school, where she was teased by others. Her father was white and she had been living as a white girl. However, racism was very alive in the small town. After her hair got wet, she was seen as black and the teasing got worse.
The peak of teasing came when a spoiled rich girl mocked her by dressing in blackface in a school skit. This lead to the rich girl getting expelled and losing her college admission. The rich girl's friend also distanced from her. The friend was a smart girl who was working at upping her standing. She was dating the super-start black quarterback. The two were not expecting to go to prom, since the school had separate independent black and white proms. She encouraged her boyfriend to go with Maddy to prom to help make things better.
The school tries to have an "integrated prom" for black and white students. (Though there is still a smaller "white prom" at the country club.) The quarterback agrees to ask Maddy out. However, he also decides he wants to get to know her. He talks to her and goes out for a milkshake with her. He realizes that he really does like her. She doesn't see him as some super-star and he can be himself around her. He can actually talk about himself and his interest, and not just be treated as a dumb jock. He becomes smitten by Maddy and loses interest in his girlfriend. Maddy is also attracted to him and is excited to participate in some "normal" activities with others. She based her experience on classic movies. He feels bad that he had not stood up for her earlier.
They go to prom together and are having a great experience, including their first kiss. They are voted prom king and king. However, it turns out that this was rigged in order for mean girl to pull a practical joke. As they are sitting on the "throne", buckets of white paint come down all over them. They are soaked and go out of the building. Outside, there are a few protestors and cops. As people are out there, the quarterback gets accidentally pushed into a trigger happy cop. This cop starts beating him. Maddy thinks he is dead and lets her wrath come out.
She is extremely upset. She raises cars in the air and throws them to the ground, she sends electric surges around. She stops a train and derails it. She causes a trail of destruction that kills most of the high school class. The internal hurt has become external.
Ironically, the mean girl only loses an arm. The smart girl also survives and secretly helps her to escape the town. (Though she never admits to it.) The cruelties of bullying and modern-day racism come alive in the book. The retaliation ends up taking the lives of many that were not active participants - but they did stand by while others did happen. Maddy Washington had a peak high followed by a peak low.
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