"Like her Grass Angel, Schumacher's latest story follows a sympathetic preteen as she fumbles her way toward adulthood. As the novel opens, 12-year-old Theodora Grumman sets out for her annual summer visit at her grandparents' home at the Jersey shore. But this year, her mother hands her 'a notebook of truths.' The woman explains, 'You can write anything you want in here as long as every single thing you write is true.' Gradually, readers learn that Thea began lying in February, due to a near-tragic event that she has promised to keep secret, and her mother's gift proves to be the key to unlocking it. The notebook's 100 truths begin benignly ('Truth #3: I don't know what to write in this notebook'), but soon clue readers in to Thea's anxieties and even her sense of humor, as events in the narrative trigger her entries. For instance, when her seven-year-old cousin and roommate, Jocelyn, becomes a 'miniature shadow,' Thea writes, 'Truth #5: I really, really don't like sharing a bedroom.' But Jocelyn carries a secret of her own, and as the book progresses, she acts as the perfect catalyst both to pull Thea away from her overburdened thoughts and to trigger Thea's confiding of her disturbing secret. The lessons the two learn feel genuine, as do the relationships among other members of this big, boisterous extended family. With their help, Thea learns that everyone makes mistakes and that telling the truth, no matter how difficult, is always better than lying. Ages 9-12. (Sept.)" Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

“Issues of secrets and lies will resonate with young readers. . . . A compelling novel.”The Bulletin

“Strong characterizations. . . . Readers will respond to [Jocelyn’s] fortitude.”Booklist

From the Trade Paperback edition.

Julie Schumacher is the author of The Book of One Hundred Truths, The Chain Letter, and Grass Angel, a PEN Center USA Literary Award Finalist for Children’s Literature, all published by Delacorte Press. She is also the author of numerous short stories and two books for adults, including The Body Is Water an Ernest Hemingway Foundation/PEN Award Finalist for First Fiction and an ALA Notable Book of the Year.

Julie Schumacher is the director of the creative writing program and a professor of English at the University of Minnesota. She lives with her husband and their two daughters in St. Paul.