#16 Things I Thought Were True

by Janet Gurtler

YA Contemporary

Book Description

Heart attacks happen to other people #thingsIthoughtweretrue

When Morgan’s mom gets sick, it’s hard not to panic. Without her mother, she would have no one—until she finds out the dad who walked out on her as a baby isn’t as far away as she thought…

Adam is a stuck-up, uptight jerk #thingsIthoughtweretrue

Now that they have a summer job together, Morgan’s getting to know the real Adam, and he’s actually pretty sweet…in a nerdy-hot kind of way. He even offers to go with her to find her dad. Road trip, anyone?

5000 Twitter followers are all the friends I need #thingsIthoughtweretrue

With Adam in the back seat, a hyper chatterbox named Amy behind the wheel, and plenty of Cheetos to fuel their trip, Morgan feels ready for anything. She’s not expecting a flat tire, a missed ferry, a fake girlfriend…and that these two people she barely knew before the summer started will become the people she can’t imagine living without.

MY THOUGHTS: 3 OUT OF 5 FLEURS DE LIS

#16thingsithoughtweretrue by Janet Gurtler

Pretty much another meh, cookie cutter YA contemp for me. The only sort of interesting twist here is that our main character is obsessed with her Twitter feed because she’s Twitter-famous. Morgan is about to be a senior in high school, and is working at the local amusement park. She’s basically friendless since her best friend leaked a video of Morgan dancing around in her underwear onto youtube that went viral.

Morgan’s mom suddenly has to be admitted to the hospital for a heart procedure. She rushes there even though she and her mom have not always seen eye to eye; her mother has never even told her who her father is. But when Morgan’s mom thinks she’s on her deathbed, she tells Morgan who he is and where she can find him. Morgan sets out with her dorkily cute boss Adam and her new talkative co-worker, Amy, to confront the father she never knew.

This is part road trip story and part emotional novel with a little dash of romance thrown in. I found Morgan herself rather annoying and a bit stuck up, though I could relate to her problem of a narcissistic mother. Adam is super sweet and dedicated, though I think he gives her too much credit sometimes.

Amy was absolutely the heart of this novel, and she brought most of the laughs as well as the deeper, more poignant moments. Her part in the end was the part I liked best. The author did a nice job of connecting you to this lively girl and feeling her pain.

Maybe someone younger than me would like the book more, but as I stated, I didn’t find much special about it.

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About the Author

Janet lives near the Canadian Rockies with her husband and son and a little dog named Bruce. She does not live in an Igloo or play hockey, but she does love maple syrup and says “eh” a lot.

PURCHASE:

Barnes and Noble

Amazon

Indie Bound (look for your local indie bookstore here!)

Indigo/Chapters