Queen Kat, Carmel & St Jude Get a Life by Maureen McCarthy [Teen retro read]

Set in Melbourne, in the early 1990s, what drew me to this book was the cover (coffee and muffin!) and recommendations from others.  It's described as a classic, but my daughter says it's not.
Whatever, it still was a great story about three very different country girls and their first year after school, sharing a house in Melbourne.  Kat, the rich snob, Jude the political activist, and Carmel the struggling musician.  This first year away from home is when they each find their own talents, strenghths, weaknesses.  They each have issues to deal with, and things which test them, but which also help them grow up more.  They begin as strangers and end as friends.
Other people's comments on the book cover show that this book has really resounded with some.  I thought the girls characters were a bit exaggerated.  For example, Kat was a super snob and very beautiful, Jude incredibly smart (A+s) and a full-on activist against human-rights abuses in Chile, and Carmel very shy but incredibly talented as a singer/musician.  Despite this, each girl had enough in them that you could identify with, and the things they get up feel like they could happen to any one.