Gr 9 Up—High school valedictorian and overachiever Julia feels that she has her life all figured out. She plans to be a lawyer like her father, who has lined up a summer internship for her, to be followed by pre-law at a college where she has been given a full scholarship. Julia has never questioned her parents' overprotectiveness or their insistence on perfection in everything. This all changes when her older sister Sophie, who has long been estranged from the family, comes to her graduation and gives her a car and an invitation to visit her in Vermont, where she is renovating an old house and planning to open a bakery. Impulsively, Julia decides to take Sophie up on the offer and ends up spending the summer working on the house, meeting new people, and discovering some truths that her parents have kept from her. Julia also comes to understand herself better and to make her own decisions for her future. This is a quiet but powerful story, and the gradual revelations of family secrets make it an absorbing read. Both Julia and Sophia are complex, believable characters, and the slow development and strengthening of their relationship is one of the highlights of the book. Readers of Laurie Halse Anderson's Catalyst (Viking, 2002) and Megan Frazer's Secrets of Truth and Beauty (Hyperion, 2009) will appreciate this story, as will Sarah Dessen fans.—Kathleen E. Gruver, Burlington County Library, Westampton, NJ
Julia has just finished high school as valedictorian, with her future mapped out to perfection. But when her unstable older sister, Sophie, appears on the scene offering a new plan, Julia begins to question everything she knows about her family, her choices, and the rest of her life. Galante draws readers in with atmospheric details and well-cadenced dialogue.
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