Guest Post with Janet Gurtler ~ JeanBookNerd

Photo Content from Janet Gurtler

A Rita Award Finalist and Crystal Kite Award Finalist, Janet Gurtler's young adult books have been chosen for the JUNIOR LIBRARY GUILD SELECTION and as BEST BOOKS FOR TEENS from the Canadian Children’s Book Center. Janet lives in Okotoks Alberta, Canada with her husband, son, and a chubby black Chihuahua named Bruce.

Publisher: Sourcebooks, Inc
Format: Paperback | 304 pages
Publication date: 15 April 2015
ISBN 10: 1402278004
ISBN 13: 9781402278006

Praise for THE TRUTH ABOUT US

"Gurtler has created a thought-provoking YA about class divides and prejudices and how appearances can be far from the truth. Readers will easily empathize with the main characters, while some of the secondary cast have compelling stories of their own. " ―RT Book Reviews, 4 1/2 Stars

"Jess feels like nobody "gets" her. Yes, she may be pretty, and she may have a lot of money, and she may be friends with the most popular girl in school, but what Jess needs are real friends who understand her. Jess has a lot of things going on in her life, and she has not chosen the best methods for coping recently. After an incident with her supposed friend Nance, Jess's father decides she needs to be reprimanded. Her punishment is to volunteer at the local shelter while the rest of her posse spends the summer soaking up the sun. New Beginnings turns out be just what Jess needed. She not only finds herself but also finds the real friends she has been searching for and even a romance. Flynn comes from a different economic class, and as the couple learns to overcome the challenges that are brought about by the gap in their relative statuses, Jess becomes a more developed and well-rounded character. Other subplots, such as her family recovering from an accident, add depth. This title will pair well with Simon Elkeles's Perfect Chemistry (Walker, 2008), another story dealing with building strong emotional relationships with people who come from vastly different backgrounds. VERDICT A tender, layered romance" ―School Library Journal

"A thought-provoking YA about class divides and prejudices and how appearances can be far from the truth. Readers will easily empathize with the main characters, while some of the secondary cast have compelling stories of their own. " ―RT Book Reviews

"Touching on all kinds of topics, from homelessness, absent parents, and girls and boys clamoring for attention for all the wrong reasons to the ever-present theme of the haves-vs.-the have nots, The Truth About Us shows many different truths and calls readers to examine themselves, as well as root for Jess and Flynn." ―VOYA Magazine

"A book about finding happiness, honesty and being true to yourself, The Truth About Us promises to be a must-read for any YA romance fan. " ―Girls' Life.com

"The Truth About Us will appeal to contemporary romance readers, but it also does a really good job of highlighting the truth about the various economic realities of the people we know but don't always know well, the people we see every day but never really learn their stories. I also love that it doesn't vilify or demonize any of the people in the shelter and it highlights the truth of many people like Flynn's family who just need a little bit of extra help to make ends meet as they bust their butts in jobs that barely pay a livable wage. For every story you hear about someone milking the system, the truth is that most of the people needing some additional help are working hard in a system that seems designed to make sure they fail. The Truth About Us helps give those stories a voice." ―Teen Librarian Toolbox

MOST RANDOM SPONTANEOUS THING YOU'VE EVER DONE

Drove 1300 KM to see an NHL hockey game

Got my hair dyed blonde

Agreed to a Caribbean Cruise while under the influence

Bought expensive face cream I didn’t want from a handsome man

Burst out into song while at work in a quiet store

Wore a Sugar Crisp Bear costume to a mall

Yesterday I paid for Starbucks for the car behind me

Danced my face off at a concert where no one was dancing

Got my nose pierced in my 40’s

Told a girl in a book store carrying my book that I was the author of the book. She thought I was completely weird or didn’t believe me and walked away. Later I saw her with her mom and told her mom the same thing and signed the book for though I’m pretty sure she thought I was nuts.

TEN CHARACTERISTICS OF A GREAT FRIEND

Funny
Loyal
Kind
Supportive
Fun
Truthful
Open
Enthusiastic
Empathetic
Compassionate

THE TRUTH ABOUT US BY JANET GURTLER EXCERPT

“You have a thing for him?” Wilf asks. “And I mean the older one.”

“No!” I stand straighter. “I barely know him.” There’s a tingling in my stomach though, and when I look up, Wilf is staring at me.

“Rhea always said I had a sixth sense for stuff like that. It’s what made me such a good lawyer.”

I glare at him, almost telling him my dad is a lawyer and a jerk too but say nothing instead.

“Flynn and his family are good people,” Wilf says. He bends down and picks at the leaves of a plant growing up from a pot on the ground. “Kyle’s dad gambled. Spent everything and then some and took off and left her with his debt. Her house foreclosed, and they moved into a grubby old rental in town. She works at a bakery and struggles to keep up with bills and the rent. They come for meals so that the boys eat properly. Especially Kyle.”

I swallow and nod and stare down at my feet, which seem to be shuffling around on their own.

“The people here all have stories. Remember that. Flynn’s not a charity case.”

I look up and nod again.

“Probably won’t hurt a girl like you, seeing life on the other side.”

I shift my feet again, wanting to argue about what kind of girl I am, but it’s kind of pointless.

“Good job, kiddo,” he says to Kyle, who has returned with a jug of water that’s slopping over the sides. “I have some things to look after,” he says to me. “Would you be okay looking after Kyle?” he asks. I glance around as if he might be talking to someone else.

A powerful and gripping contemporary YA from the author of I'm Not Her that's "Just right for fans of Sarah Dessen and Jodi Picoult."-Booklist

The truth is that Jess knows she screwed up.
She's made mistakes, betrayed her best friend, and now she's paying for it. Her dad is making her spend the whole summer volunteering at the local soup kitchen.

The truth is she wishes she was the care-free party-girl everyone thinks she is.
She pretends it's all fine. That her "perfect" family is fine. But it's not. And no one notices the lie...until she meets Flynn. He's the only one who really sees her. The only one who listens.

The truth is that Jess is falling apart – and no one seems to care.
But Flynn is the definition of "the wrong side of the tracks." When Jess's parents look at him they only see the differences-not how much they need each other. They don't get that the person who shouldn't fit in your world... might just be the one to make you feel like you belong.

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