• Age: 14 to 17
• Grade: 9 to 12

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.

Janet Gurtler's profile page

JANET GURTLER lives in Calgary, Canada with her husband and son and a chubby Chihuahua who refuses to eat dog food. Janet does not live in an Igloo or play hockey, but she does love maple syrup and says eh" a lot. Visit Janet at www.janet-gurtler.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

"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

"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 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

"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

"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