Truth and Kisses

Mostly Miserable Life of April Sinclair #3

by Laurie B. Friedman

April has a New Year's resolution to start the year off right--get back together with sweet, funny Billy. They've been friends forever, her family loves him, and he's even class president this year. But she keeps getting stuck on several questions: What does Billy think about her? What's going on between Billy and their friend Brynn? And why does she feel she needs to keep her friendship with Matt Parker, her hot neighbor, a secret? When Cupid throws April a curve ball, she's faced with a new problem: how does a girl follow her heart when old friendships, new friendships, and her family's trust are on the line?

Genres: Young Adult, Middle Grade

168 pages, ebook

First published January 1, 2014

About the author

Laurie Friedman is the author and ghostwriter of over 300 award-winning picture books, easy readers, chapter books, and novels for young readers including the bestselling Mallory McDonald series, the Moose the Dog easy reader series, the Camp Creepy Lake and Wendy & Willow chapter books, and may picture books including Cows in the House and Love, Ruby Valentine.

Reviews

[Eden (Taylor’s version) · Rating 3 out of 5]

GURLLLLL, SORT YER PRIORITIES OUT

[Safa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an OK book.
It was just the same stuff happening with the same people, just new surprises for April.

[Addisyn W · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book because it relates to real life all of the things that happen in this book could happen in real life. This book would be good for people who like realistic books and recommended age would be 4th-6th grade because it's kind of easy but not really and I don't think adults would like this book. If you liked this book you would like the dork dairies series. This book is about a girl named April and she is choosing between two boys Billy and Matt. Will April choose Matt or Billy? Read this book to find out.

[Kenzie Rae · Rating 2 out of 5]

While the first two books were cute and funny, this one was...different. It includes eighth graders making out, and just a whole lot of love stuff that may not be appropriate for younger readers. Otherwise, it was a pretty good book.

[kei · Rating 3 out of 5]

done reading in less than 2 hrs 😭 probably bc it’s sooo fast paced idk, i js thought it needed something more to make it a solid 4 stars for me but it’s ok!! i wanted it as a filler book lang naman and the plot was light so it lived up to its purpose :D

[Addie Farmer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book so much! It’s the perfect representation of a teenage girls mind. LOL 😂

[Katie Fitzgerald · Rating 3 out of 5]

April Sinclair is back - and her social life is more complicated than ever. With the start of the new year, she makes a resolution to get back together with Billy, her best friend who recently broke up with her. She worries, though, that her other best friend, Brynn, might also like Billy, and that her next door neighbor, Matt Parker, might like her a little too much. In the meantime, April continues to participate in the dance team, whose members are mentoring elementary school students, and she looks ahead to the Valentine’s Day dance, where she is sure the perfect romantic scenario will unfold.

This series, though somewhat fixated on dating and drama, is utterly addictive. April’s voice vacillates realistically between joyful and exasperated, and her infinite hope that things will work out in her favor is something all young teens with crushes can understand. Her selfishness is, at times, a bit grating for an adult reader, as are all the plans she makes to win over a boy, but for middle school girls, who are at a very self-absorbed point in their development, this will reflect their own attitudes and experiences.

Up to now, this series has been a mostly innocent exploration of young love, but with the introduction of a relationship with Matt Parker, it looks like things might become a bit more mature from here on out. While I think the first two books made decent read-alikes for Dork Diaries, this one is more similar to the Alice series, or to the Winnie years books, which deal a bit more frankly with the physical developments of puberty and the logistics of kissing. This is why these are perfect middle school books - not too mature, but not too babyish, either.

[Margie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the third book in this series. I have not read book one or two. Book three read just fine without having read one or two. I do think I was missing some back ground of April's relationship with Brynn, but it was still a good read.

April, Brynn and Billy are average middle school students. They miscommunicated and got their feelings hurt - it felt realistic. I like the way the adults treat the students. The adults are obviously in charge and have a relationship with the kids.

I think a parent would be comfortable having their middle grade child reading this book.

I would read another book from Laurie Friedman.

More reviews at Ope's Opinions.com

[Maria · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a really good book. It relates to middle school life especially for girls

[Nadia Solange]

It was OKAY.

[Iris R. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book because it was a lot about her grandmother and it was super sweet. If you liked the dork diaries you'd like this book. This book would be amazing for all readers. April was going to her grandmas wedding and she met her new cousin. She loved hanging out with her. My personal favorite part was the wedding with the main colors as plumb purple. It was so funny and I hope you enjoy this book.

Iris