Truth and Kisses

September 15, 2014
Grades 5-8 Since third grade April's best friends have been Brynn and Billy. Now that April is 13, the triangular relationship has inevitably shifted a bit, as recorded in Can You Say Catastrophe? (2013) and Too Good to Be True (2014). Which boy does April really like: Billy, her longtime friend and one-time boyfriend, or Matt, an older boy whose good looks and hot kisses take her breath away? April tries to sort out her feelings in her diary. Complicating matters, Brynn appears to be making a play for Billy just when April decides to make her move in that direction. When talking with Brynn and Billy becomes awkward, April confides in Sophie, a sophisticated cousin with poise and insight beyond her years. More credible than Sophie's even-keeled persona, April's emotional ups and downs sound authentic and plausible as she navigates the choppy waters of young romance. Another angst-driven episode in the Mostly Miserable Life of April Sinclair series.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)