Synopses & Reviews
Dredging up the past can knock the present right off balance.The world expects perfection from seventeen-year-old Shawna Gallagher, and for the most part, thats what they get. She dates the right boys, gets good grades, and follows her fathers every rule. But when her estranged lesbian mother dies, its more than perfect Shawna can take. Suddenly, anger from being abandoned ten years ago is resurfacing along with Shawnas embarrassment over her mothers other family. As she confronts family secrets and questions from the past, Shawna realizes theres a difference between doing the perfect thing and doing the right thing.
Shawnas honest and relatable voice will draw readers in and hold them until the last page in this coming-of-age story. Jeannine Garsee has delivered a compulsively readable second novel, perfect for fans of Sarah Dessen and Laurie Halse Anderson.
Review
«“Ten years ago, Shawnas mom Penny came out, moved out, and never looked back. For 10 years Shawna aspired to be everything her protective, perfectionist father Jack wanted her to be, distancing herself as much as possible from the shame that Pennys abandonment caused her. But at 17, her moms death pulls Shawna into contact with Pennys partner Fran, and their sons, Arye, 17, and Schmule, 10. Jack, who legally remains Pennys next-of-kin, financially ruins Frans family, and then goes after Schmule, who is revealed to be Penny and Jacks biological child. Shawna finds herself questioning her allegiances, but is powerless in the shadow of her domineering father. The more Shawna tries to connect with Schmule and to make amends with Fran and Arye, the more vicious Jack becomes, leaving Shawna alone to deal with the dawning realization that Schmule is a great danger to himself. There are many issues at play in this powerful and compelling novel—gay rights, acceptance, shame, first love, domestic violence, harassment, depression—all swirling around Shawna, whose thoughts and emotions are not always politically correct, but are always genuine. This sensitive and heart-wrenching story slowly unfolds into a gripping read featuring realistically flawed characters who undergo genuine growth.” — Booklist, starred review
“Seventeen-year-old Shawna Gallagher is the poised daughter of a high-powered physician and a mother who abandoned the family 10 years earlier. Raised to be a fine hostess, excellent student, and future doctor, Shawna finds her “perfect” world unraveling when she gets a fateful phone call from her mothers Jewish lesbian partner, Fran. Shawnas mother has had a stroke and is near death. The teen is thrown into a tumultuous period during which everything she has believed-about herself, her demanding father, her “crazy” mother, her mothers partner, and their family-is open to question. Drawn reluctantly into Frans family story, Shawna finds herself torn between her father, who is always right and always in control, and these strange people whom she does not want to know, but who somehow speak to her sense of fairness and, even more strangely, family. Shawnas actions seem to bear out her own “split personality,” as the consequences of her forbidden involvement with Fran reverberate throughout their lives. Garsee has created an intense, frank novel with fragile, resilient, believable characters. Some relationships almost border on the contrived, but, overall, this is a mature and gripping coming-of-age story.”-School Library Journal
“Perfectionist Shawna hasnt seen her mother, Penny, in years, not since Penny left their Ohio home to live with another woman in New York. When she dies suddenly of a stroke, Shawna gets to know Pennys partner, Fran, and her two sons. Their relationship goes from accepting to awkward after Shawna learns that one of Frans sons might be her blood brother. The custody battle that ensues puts Shawna in the position of go-between, in which she gets caught between her love for her brother and her fathers use of the law to do the legal, yet unkind, thing. During this time of upheaval, Shawna also learns that her best friend is a lesbian. Garsee manages to give every character depth and dimension without falling into the trap of making the children too perfect and angelic and the adults imperfect to the point where the reader loses sympathy for them, save for Shawnas father. The details of Shawnas daily life sometimes slow down the plot, but it is because of these details that readers will believe Shawnas final transition from doormat to independent thinker.”—Kirkus Reviews
“Garsees second novel hits the ground running and doesnt let up. Shawna Gallagher, a high school senior trying to live up to her domineering fathers expectations, is awakened one night by a phone call: her estranged mother, who left Shawna and her father years earlier for a woman, Fran, has had a stroke. Following her mothers death, Shawna must confront her feelings about her mother and her own prejudices (she has particular issues with gay people, which are further complicated when her best friend comes out). Shawnas father, learning that one of Frans sons is in fact his child by Shawnas mother, fights for (and gains) custody of the boy—finally spurring Shawna to defy him. The novel overflows with story lines and plot twists—Shawnas romance with her stepbrother (and her fathers with her former babysitter), her ailing grandfather and the ridicule she faces in school. Nevertheless, Garsee presents a compelling portrait of a young woman growing up and coping with an overwhelming array of problems.” --Publishers Weekly
Review
An ALA Best Book for Young Adults
"Powerful and compelling . . . this sensitive and heart-wrenching story slowly unfolds into a gripping read." —Booklist, starred review
"Garsee has created an intense, frank novel with fragile, resilient, believable characters." —School Library Journal
Synopsis
After her estranged lesbian mother dies, 17-year-old Shawna Gallagher's anger from being abandoned 10 years before resurfaces. As she confronts family secrets and questions from the past, Shawna realizes there's a difference between doing the perfect thing and doing the right thing.
Synopsis
Perfectionist Shawna dates the right boys, gets good grades, and follows her father's every rule. So when her estranged lesbian mother dies, Shawna needs to figure out how to have the perfect reaction. But anger from being abandoned ten years ago, combined with the introduction of her mother's other family, threatens to leave Shawna spinning out of control. A relatable and honest teen voice-and a shocking secret-make this novel a true page-turner.
About the Author
JEANNINE GARSEE received a typewriter for her thirteenth birthday and says she hasnt stopped writing since. She lives with her husband and two children in the suburbs of Cleveland, Ohio, where she works as a nurse. www.jeanninegarsee.com