10 Truths and a Dare

April 1, 2021
Senior week isn't all fun and games if you're in danger of not graduating at all. Ask anyone and they'll tell you Olivia Perkins has got it all. She's class salutatorian and an accomplished AP student; she's bagged an acceptance at Louisiana State University and has her majors and future career in international tax law planned to the last detail. So when she learns, shortly before the end of the school year, that she failed her off-campus golf PE class and is at risk of not being allowed to graduate, her entire world shatters. With her future and reputation at stake, Olivia, alongside her small circle of co-conspiring cousins and friends, must find a way to make up her PE hours without tipping off everyone in her highly involved extended Italian American family--while also putting in appearances at the graduation parties filling her week and navigating the shoals of nascent romance as she falls for Leo Perez, the son of old family friends who is possibly cued as Latinx by his name. This dramedy of errors putts along with a great deal of humor and heart. Elston beautifully depicts the warm, in-each-others'-pockets family atmosphere and creates for the cousins a refreshingly believable friendship. Overarching themes of integrity and the dangers of miscommunication avoid becoming heavy-handed. Charming. (Fiction. 12-18)

COPYRIGHT(2021) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

May 1, 2021

Gr 7 Up-High school senior Olivia lives in Shreveport, LA with her huge Italian American family. She's not graduating as valedictorian, but she's more than proud to be runner-up as salutatorian. Before she can head off to Louisiana State University for an accounting and political science double major, though, she needs to graduate...which may be an issue because she didn't fulfill her gym credits. To save her standing as salutatorian (and avoid the judgment of her cohort of aunts, uncles, and cousins) she has to skip Senior Party Week and volunteer at the town's big golf tournament. While she's setting precarious golf ball pyramids, her cousins are standing in as Olivia at parties so no one can find out her secret. Elston's prose is clean and easy to digest, making this a speedy read for teens. While the premise is highly improbable and the characters follow teen rom-com tropes, this book delivers a fun romp with lovable characters (or characters that are enjoyable to hate). This is a book meant purely for the joy of the story. VERDICT Fans of Maurene Goo and Becky Albertalli will enjoy this fun, fluffy read.-Alexandra Remy, Windsor P.L., CT

Copyright 2021 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.