16 Things I Thought Were True

by Janet Gurtler

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781402277986
Publisher:	Sourcebooks
Publication date:	03/04/2014
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	304
File size:	942 KB
Age Range:	13 - 17 Years

About the Author

JANET GURTLER lives in Calgary, Canada with her husband and son and a chubby Chihuahua who refuses to eat dog food. Janet does not live in an Igloo or play hockey, but she does love maple syrup and says "eh" a lot. Visit Janet at www.janet-gurtler.com.

Editorial Reviews

12/23/2013
"Rocking out to ‘Sexy and I Know It' in my underwear is a totally good idea. #thingsIthoughtweretrue," tweets 18-year-old Morgan after her former best friend posts a mortifying video of her on YouTube that goes viral. Most chapters begin with a humorous tweet along these lines, reflecting the wisdom Morgan gains in this romantic road-trip story from Gurtler (How I Lost You). For Morgan, Twitter is an arena for her creative writing, as well as a crutch in awkward social situations, but she needs in-person support after her mother is diagnosed with heart disease. Her mother also divulges information Morgan has been waiting her whole life to hear: the name and location of the father she assumes abandoned her. Along with her "cute in a smart-nerd way" friend/crush Adam and exuberant new acquaintance Amy, Morgan travels from Washington state to British Columbia to track down her father. The story takes an abruptly dark turn at the end, but even this underlines the novel's theme that one's expectations rarely match up with life's realities. Ages 13–up. Agent: Jill Corcoran, Jill Corcoran Literary Agency. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly

"A Twitter-obsessed teen gets some real friends in this appealing story about family and friendship . . . Well done, sensitive and real." — Kirkus Reviews

"[A] romantic road-trip story . . . [with a] theme that one's expectations rarely match up with life's realities. " — Publishers Weekly

"Peppering her prose with tweets and texts, Gurtler contrasts the quick appeal of casual online friendships with the lasting satisfaction of giving the same attention to real relationships…Morgan’s emotional journey is nonetheless an honest one." — Booklist

"This is a timely, relevant, and touching story for the so-called digital natives. Highly Recommended." — Library Media Connection

From the Publisher

03/01/2014
Gr 7 Up—In this poignant and heartbreaking story of love, loss, regret, and viral videos, Morgan McLean tries to live down the embarrassing video that exposed her dancing in her undies to millions of viewers. She's got two goals for the summer before her senior year-reach 5000 followers on Twitter and make as much money as she can so she can go to school far away from her small-town Washington home. Then Morgan's lifeline, her mom, the only parent she's ever known, gets sick and finally tells Morgan what she's been wanting to know since forever-the identity of her birth father. With that nugget of information, Morgan decides to hit the open road to locate the father who abandoned her and her mother before she was born. With her two new friends, super cute nerd Adam and talkaholic, tiny Amy, she's ready to go to Canada to find him. It seems like everyone's got a secret to keep, and things aren't always what they seem in times of love and hate, sickness and health. This delightful fast read will keep fans of realistic romantic fiction rapidly turning the pages to see if Morgan and her friends will truly get their happily ever afters. The romance is sweet and chaste, which makes this a perfect read for younger teens, and the heartbreaking reveal at the end will definitely make readers reach for the Kleenex. Although the story and characters are not necessarily breaking new ground, those wanting a story that will tug at their heartstrings as well as provide some chuckles won't be disappointed. For those who want some melancholy in their road-trip romances.—Traci Glass, Eugene Public Library, OR

School Library Journal

2014-01-08
A Twitter-obsessed teen gets some real friends in this appealing story about family and friendship. Eighteen-year-old Morgan knows nothing about her dad, not even his name. Her mom simply won't talk about him. But when her mom winds up in the hospital, she finally lets the information slip. Estranged from schoolmates after an embarrassing video goes viral, Morgan meets talkative Amy at work and reluctantly becomes friends with Adam, her supervisor. When Morgan learns her dad's address in British Columbia, Amy talks Morgan and Adam into a road trip to find him, leading to a classic journey to understanding. In a narrative punctuated by Tweets, hashtags and text-message transcripts, Gurtler keeps the focus as much on Morgan's friendships as on her evolving family matters, with an eventual emphasis on finding ways to forgive. Each character has distinct flaws, including Morgan and both her parents, giving the book a psychologically realistic flavor. Chatty Amy comes across as the most interesting character as she propels Morgan to look beneath the surfaces of her friendships. As Morgan becomes more involved with Adam and Amy, she begins to realize the depth of her relationships in an emotionally satisfying climax. Well done, sensitive and real. (Fiction. 12-17)

Kirkus Reviews