Then I Met My Sister

Gr 8 Up—Shannon died in a car accident before Summer was born, but Summer feels as if she has never measured up to the perfect and overachieving image of her sibling. A gift from her Aunt Nic for her 17th birthday, Shannon's secret diary from the last year of her life, provides Summer the opportunity to get to know her sister and reveals a few uncomfortable truths about her family along the way. Guided by the insight and honesty of her (more than) best friend, Gibson, Summer is able to reevaluate her sometimes-judgmental and unfair analysis of her family. Excerpts from Shannon's journal reveal that she wasn't always the picture-perfect person Summer believed her to be, and in fact show that despite Summer's C average, she understands a lot more about the way the world works than Shannon did. The journey Summer goes on to "meet" her sister is compelling, but equally interesting are her discoveries about herself and her relationships, especially her budding romance with Gibs. Not just your average story of self-acceptance, this is a book intriguing enough to read in one sitting.—Amy Commers, South St. Paul Public Library, MN