Full disclosure: I got this book free*, and I probably wouldn’t have finished it except I promised to write a review about it. Although the premise of the book is interesting, the storyline is haphazard and poorly executed.
Basically, Tiffany Sly—a Chicago native whose mother just died from cancer—is flying to California to live with her biological father who she just found out existed. When she arrives—surprise! She has four stepsisters—one who is the same age as her—and a white stepmother. She’s now expected to follow the strict Stone Family Rules, like no internet on cell phones, no dating until you’re 18, joining their Jehovah’s Witness church, dressing up every night for dinner, and absolutely no befriending Marcus, the weird boy across the street who paints his face white. Along with adjusting to her new family life, Tiffany is also processing another bombshell…her biological father might not be her father. Another man, Xavier, met Tiffany at her mother’s funeral and claims that he’s her father. In between worrying about her paternity, starting a new, swanky private school, and trying to make friends, Tiffany has her mind full.
Okay, so the main storyline is her figuring out her paternity, but there are so many side stories and conflicts piled into this novel. It’s confusing. It’s disjointed. It’s…just not good. For example, there are four side stories that were brought up but never resolved and have no relevance to the story—Tiffany’s unnecessary attraction to her thirty-year-old teacher, when Tiffany punched a kid at school and now the racist parents are threatening to sue,Tiffany’s failed attempt to be on the basketball team, and her near-death experience. The only reason these would be included and not resolved would be if there was a sequel, but if that’s the case, why not just wait and add these later. Sometimes it’s okay to add details and side stories to help further the plot, but these were almost like stand-alone stories and didn’t develop the story at all.
Also, this book dealt with lots of issues: paternity rights, OCD and anxiety, premarital sex and the consequences of it, religion and debating the existence of God, racism, and Autism, just to name a few. It was just too much information and too little time spent developing it.
The only positive I could pull from this story was her friendship with Marcus, the kid who lives next door. It starts with Marcus’s mother fixing Tiffany’s hair in exchange for Tiffany talking to Marcus. From there, he soon becomes the only person Tiffany trusts and finds out he has a heart disease that could kill him at any point. With Tiffany’s grief over her mother, she needs someone who understands death and can help her process her feelings.
This is definitely one novel you can skip.
*I received this book free from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.
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