Truest

July 6, 2015
Sommers debuts with a summer romance that gives questions of faith a complex, satisfying treatment. Seventeen-year-old West Beck is a pastor’s daughter in small-town Minnesota, and she has been dating the school football star for years. Then the beautiful Hart twins, Silas and Laurel, enter West’s life. Suddenly, she is pulled into a flirtatious relationship with Silas and a friendship with Laurel, who has a rare psychological condition, solipsism syndrome, which causes her to doubt reality entirely. As the romantic connection between West and Silas becomes clearer to them both, they puzzle through their relationships with God, the meaning of life, and the complicated role West’s father plays as a town pastor who is rarely there for his own family. For these two thoughtful teens, faith isn’t an obstacle for their explorations of love (and sex), and although the events of the last third of this novel verge on overdramatic, in contrast to the deep philosophical conversations and carefully constructed relationships that precede them, Sommers’s prose and her instincts for character shine. Ages 13–up. Agent: Steven Chudney, Chudney Agency.

June 1, 2015
A girl looks for definition during the undefinable time before her senior year of high school. The arrival of Silas shakes up the small town of Green Lake-and preacher's kid Westlin's life. Her everyday routine of dating a football star and running an auto-detailing business is upended by the mystery of Silas. He's mercurial, curious, and quirky, and there's something strange about his twin sister, Laurel. The more she learns about Silas, the more West likes him, and good-guy boyfriend Elliot pales increasingly by comparison. Everything about Silas seems perfect, even when Laurel's bad days intrude: there are long conversations about the future, wacky adventures, and nights spent listening to their favorite radio program (a fictional cognate to such documentary shows as This American Life). But when tragedy strikes, West is left wondering how she should shape her life. What defines her, and who can help her with this task? Sommers' debut is languidly paced, befitting the season, and somewhat overpopulated with characters, which further slows things down. Still, many readers will identify with bookish, story-loving West and her frustration with her moment in life. A satisfyingly realistic portrait of small-town life and one girl's spiritual and emotional maturation within it. (Fiction. 14-18)

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June 1, 2015

Gr 10 Up-A romantic debut exploring the devastating effects of mental illness on all members of the family. When Silas Hart sees Westlin Beck for the first time, it's love at first sight for him. And West? She's got a lot on her mind: her pastor father's near-constant absence from home, her long-time boyfriend, another good friend's blindness. As her friendship with Silas develops, West realizes his sister Laurel's mental illness hangs over the family like a cloud-and when tragedy strikes, leaving both Silas and West racked with guilt, it seems their romance will implode under the strain. Can they figure out a way to remain each other's "truest" love? This is a standard romance that attempts to add emotional weight with the inclusion of an obscure mental illness. However, it takes forever for West to come to the obvious conclusion that she needs to dump boyfriend number one and move on; after she does, this work sags in the middle as it goes in an unexpected direction, away from the core love story. On-page sex and graphic language land this squarely in the older teen category. VERDICT An additional purchase for libraries where Sarah Dessen's stories are popular.-Elizabeth Friend, Wester Middle School, TX

Copyright 2015 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 15, 2015
Grades 7-10 West has lived in Green Lake all her life, and as the daughter of the local minister, she knows just about everyone in town. She accompanies her father to welcome the area's newest residents, who happen to have two teens: Silas and Laurel. Before West even has a chance to assess the new family, she has somehow offered Silas a summer job detailing cars with her. Silas is unlike anyone West has known, and she finds herself attracted to him despite the fact that she has been involved with her boyfriend, Elliott, since second grade. Breaking up with Elliott is tough, but the attraction to Silas is undeniable. However, Laurel has some deeply rooted problems that place their new romance under incredible stress. This debut deals not only with the slings and arrows of romance but also explores the changing nature of friendships, family, and other relationships.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)

January 1, 2016
The arrival of the Hart twins--Silas, who's mysterious, handsome, and deep; and Laurel, who's plagued by an unusual mental illness--changes West's life. She quickly falls for Silas, though Laurel's instability jeopardizes their happiness. The narrative is weighed down by religious and philosophical musings, but Sommers successfully builds a dramatic love story for fans of the genre.

(Copyright 2016 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)