SIXTEEN THINGS I THOUGHT WERE TRUE (Pre-Pub Review), by Janet Gurtler

Morgan McClean has a secret.  Only it isn’t a secret—her former best friend posted a video of Morgan dancing in her underwear to Facebook, it went viral, and Morgan became a pariah.  The only friends she has now are on Twitter and she spends her breaks from work at Tinkerpark (an amusement park) hiding in a forgotten bathroom, checking her phone.  When she receives a text from her brother that her mother is in the hospital, it sets off a chain of events leading to a new best friend, a road trip to find the father she never knew, and an unlikely romance.  Told through a device of a Twitter hashtag #thingsithoughtweretrue, Morgan learns a lot of wisdom in the course of her trip, mostly from her diminutive new friend Amy, who it turns out, has cancer.  Amy has a huge heart and is brave enough to push Morgan to look for the good.  Although there are sad moments, this is a book about a journey to find yourself and accept responsibility for your own mistakes.  Morgan is a little rough around the edges, but entirely likeable.  Strong characters with slightly new twist on the teen road trip novel, I found this a refreshing read.

Due to be published March 2014

June’s Rating System:  Language—PG13 (mostly a**, thankfully, no f-bombs;  Nudity—PG there is the dancing video, which is described and one scene where Morgan falls over a barbed wire fence ripping her pants in a revealing manner;  Sexual Content—PG13 mostly from one “makeout scene”;   GLBT Content—G;  Violence—G; Substance Use and Abuse—PG Morgan’s mother is a heavy smoker and wine drinker, which is why she almost has a heart attack.  She reforms.  It is worth noting that Morgan’s brothers did not share her father and her mother was married to neither man.

Robin’s Comments:  I was worried when I started this that it would be just another sassy teenager with angst book, but really it wasn’t.  The characters were very true to life, and most of them were nice people, even the adults, which is unusual in a YA book. The families in the story are not perfect, but they love each other in a realistic way.  This book is listed by the publisher for grades 7-12, but I would definitely put it at 9-12.