To Be Perfectly Honest

August 1, 2013

Gr 9 Up-This coming-of-age novel in verse features Colette, a spunky, untrustworthy narrator whose schoolmates like to joke, "How can you tell/if Colette is lying?/Her mouth/is open." Readers will root for the teen as she struggles under the shadow of her beautiful, movie-star mother whose permissive parenting style is equally neglectful. But all is not as it seems, as readers are taken on a roller coaster of truth and lies. By "reinventing reality," Colette creates her own world because, in her words, "my actual life/sucks." Cheeky Colette is well matched by her precocious younger brother. The siblings are forced to follow their mother "on location" to a small town where the week's main excitement is the farmers' market. In "the armpit/of the universe!" Colette meets Connor, for whom she feels a passion that she will struggle to rein in, much like her indulgence in lying. Sones captures the ache of first love. Readers may find themselves laughing, crying, and wanting to believe the unreliable, well-developed narrator. Excerpts may make for a stepping stone to William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. Like Shakespeare's play, this title lends itself to discussion about healthy relationships, setting limits, defining oneself, and evaluating what is real. Fast paced and great for reluctant readers.-Teresa Pfeifer, The Springfield Renaissance School, Springfield, MA

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