16 Things I Thought Were True

Gr 7 Up—In this poignant and heartbreaking story of love, loss, regret, and viral videos, Morgan McLean tries to live down the embarrassing video that exposed her dancing in her undies to millions of viewers. She's got two goals for the summer before her senior year-reach 5000 followers on Twitter and make as much money as she can so she can go to school far away from her small-town Washington home. Then Morgan's lifeline, her mom, the only parent she's ever known, gets sick and finally tells Morgan what she's been wanting to know since forever-the identity of her birth father. With that nugget of information, Morgan decides to hit the open road to locate the father who abandoned her and her mother before she was born. With her two new friends, super cute nerd Adam and talkaholic, tiny Amy, she's ready to go to Canada to find him. It seems like everyone's got a secret to keep, and things aren't always what they seem in times of love and hate, sickness and health. This delightful fast read will keep fans of realistic romantic fiction rapidly turning the pages to see if Morgan and her friends will truly get their happily ever afters. The romance is sweet and chaste, which makes this a perfect read for younger teens, and the heartbreaking reveal at the end will definitely make readers reach for the Kleenex. Although the story and characters are not necessarily breaking new ground, those wanting a story that will tug at their heartstrings as well as provide some chuckles won't be disappointed. For those who want some melancholy in their road-trip romances.—Traci Glass, Eugene Public Library, OR