I LOVED this book when I was a kid. L O V E D it. I cannot even remember how many times I took this book out of the library - at least once a month [even though I knew the story frontwards and backwards]. So I was really excited when a friend helped me remember the name AND that I was able to find the book to buy. Sigh. Why is it that sometimes the books of our childhood that we loved are so different as adults? I find that this isn't always the case [some books have held the same magic that they did when I was a child] but sadly, this isn't the case with this one. I was terribly disappointed as I read through the book. I remembered much of the story. What I did not remember however, was just how obnoxious the MC was. Truly obnoxious. To the point of making me want to never read this book again. I was not a dumb kid so I am unsure why I was so taken in by this story when I was younger. I am almost sad that I revisited this book - my illusion that I held about it has been shattered. :-(
This has been sitting on my shelves for ages, and last weekend I picked it up while doing my laundry. I ended up reading the entire book in a day. Twelve-year-old Tanner McClean writes letters to her pen pal, but they are filled with lies; she writes what she wishes were true instead of what has actually happened. When her pen pal says she is coming for a visit, Tanner has to figure out a way to make things right. What a touching story about a young girl who feels the pain of living in the shadows of her perfect siblings.
Another childhood favorite that I have gone back to reread. Some have stood the test of time. Some have not. This one has not. Tanner was really quite an unlikable character. True, she had many unwelcome changes going on in her life, but it was hard to find a lot of sympathy for her when she acted so horribly.
Typical, but still enjoyable. As usual, a letter-writing young girl lies to her penpal... and you KNOW they're going to meet and she's going to be exposed, it happens every time!