Synopsis
Never in a million years could Megan have predicted the surprise she gets for her 12th birthday. She first senses something’s up when her organized, never-waste-a-minute mother becomes “this soft, slow person” who sings happy songs. Soon Megan learns why: she has a half-sister. It seems that when Megan’s mother was a teenager, she had a baby who she gave up for adoption. But now she and 24-year-old Natalie have reestablished contact, and Natalie is coming to meet the family. Although Megan’s little sister, Betsy, is thrilled at the idea of being a flower girl in her new big sister’s wedding, Megan is not as enthusiastic. She grows increasingly resentful and anxious as her mother becomes totally absorbed in Natalie. Even more troubling is Megan’s nagging worry that she can no longer trust her parents. If they didn’t tell her about Natalie, can she ever believe anything else they say? As in her previous works, author Sarah Ellis keenly observes the nuances of relationships within families and the effects of change on those relationships.
Publishers Weekly
Canadian author Ellis (Pick-Up Sticks) refreshes a popular theme about reunited adoptees and birth mothers by exploring how the appearance of a previously unknown sibling affects other children in the family. Megan is sure that her parents are planning a special surprise for her twelfth birthday. But the surprise that Mum shares is her just-kindled relationship with Natalie, the daughter she hasn't seen since she put her up for adoption 17 years ago. Second-grader Betsy is thrilled and can't wait to be the flower girl in her new big sister's wedding. Megan, however, feels resentful and anxious as Mum talks about nothing but Natalie, who, at 24, tends to be dogmatic and self-righteous. More troubling, Megan wonders how, if her parents didn't tell her about Natalie, she can ever trust anything else they say. As in life, nobody is perfect in this searching, thoughtful novel-which makes it all the more satisfying when Megan at last finds room in her heart for each of the members of her family. Ages 10-14. (May)