A troubled teenage exchange student falls in love with the counselor who's meant to set her back on track. American seventeen-year-old Kara Jagger had the best intentions for a year-long high school exchange in the land of "Aus." She didn’t think she’d be as unhappy and lonely as she finds herself a couple of months into the experience. She’s battling culture shock and the onset of a secret eating disorder, and is upset mostly with herself for not trying harder to fit in. Kara’s exchange program assigns a counselor, Ben, to help her get back on track, but her emotions and problems only become more complicated as their romantic attraction ignites. Ben provides motivation and encouragement to overcome her self-destructive behavior, but helping Kara with such conflict of interest risks his own reputation, and triggers unforeseen consequences for them both. Set in mid-eighties Australia, Van Diemen at 17 is a novel about dealing with the unexpected, moving forward, and bittersweet love. "A true page turner! Few works of fiction portray realistic exchange students, and even fewer place these characters at the epicenter of a human drama. Kara is a compelling character facing a range of both ordinary and extraordinary issues as she attempts to live with a family of strangers and adjust to the demands of a new school in Tasmania. Although Kara's exchange story is atypical, her story is a realistic portrayal of the kinds of situations and personal reactions to them that do crop up every year for a few students. The sympathetic rendering of a conflicted young woman is heartfelt and will resonate with anyone who has struggled to make sense of life in another culture." -- Bettina Hansel, Ph.D., Author of Exchange Student Survival Kit, 2nd Edition