Tell Us Something True

by Dana Reinhardt Narrated by Lincoln Hoppe

Overview

For fans of Sarah Dessen, Jennifer Smith, E.L. Lockhart, and John Green, this delightful, often comic coming-of-age novel stars the lovable, brokenhearted River, the streets of LA, and an irresistible cast of characters.

Seventeen-year-old River doesn't know what to do with himself when Penny, the girl he adores, breaks up with him. He lives in LA, where nobody walks anywhere, and Penny was his ride; he never bothered getting a license. He's stuck. He's desperate. Okay . . . he's got to learn to drive.

But first, he does the unthinkable-he starts walking. He stumbles upon a support group for teens with various addictions. He fakes his way into the meetings, and begins to connect with the other kids, especially an amazing girl. River wants to tell the truth, but he can't stop lying, and his tangle of deception may unravel before he learns how to handle the most potent drug of all: true love.

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Praise for Tell Us Something True
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“I promise you'll fall in love with River Dean, even though he's a faker, a stalker, a non-driver, a bad dancer, a bad friend and a codependent mess. He's funny and he's true. His heart is smashed six different ways and he's trying to mend it with tacos and lies-but isn't that true of all of us?” -E. Lockhart, New York Times bestselling author of We Were Liars
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“A heartfelt tale that elevates truth over passion and friends over lovers. Reinhardt keeps it real. Much respect.” -Matthew Quick, author of The Silver Linings Playbook and Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock
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“A sharp-witted, hilarious, and addicting novel about being lost and discovering your best self. Highly recommended!” -Adam Silvera, New York Times bestselling author of More Happy Than Not
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"Oh, how I love a novel where the hero ties himself up, Houdini style, and dives into his own predicament. Once again Dana Reinhardt has written a charming, compassionate, very clever comedy, and this one reminds us how a big lie can reveal the truth.” -Laura McNeal, author of Dark Water, National Book Award Finalist
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“Tell Us Something True is hope, it is humanity, it is original, funny, wrenching, real, and intelligently surprising.” -Beth Kephart, author of Small Damages, Going Over, and This Is the Story of You

“When you start reading a Dana Reinhardt book, it's like discovering a new friend. By the time you've turned the final page it's like saying goodbye to your best friend, and I can think of nothing better to ask of a writer.” -Markus Zusak, author of The Book Thief

Editorial Reviews

JULY 2016 - AudioFile

Narrator Lincoln Hoppe’s slow pace perfectly expresses the personality of 17-year-old River Dean as he tries to meet the challenges in his life. River is stunned and overwhelmed when his girlfriend, Penny, breaks up with him because he “doesn’t think.” Hoppe’s unhurried narration emphasizes River’s torpor, a dullness resulting from his emotional pain. But River is enlivened when he wanders into Second Chance, a group for teens who suffer from addiction. Intrigued by their dynamics and stories, he invents a drug problem and joins them. So begins his stumbling, faltering journey from passivity to self-determination. Hoppe’s reading becomes more animated as River struggles to develop a fuller view of the world and his own truth. In addition, Hoppe vividly portrays the friends and family who buoy River at difficult moments. S.W. © AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine

Publishers Weekly

★ 03/28/2016
Once again, Reinhardt (We Are the Goldens) shows a deep understanding of adolescent attitudes and emotions in this novel tracing 17-year-old River’s recovery from a broken heart. The day River’s girlfriend, Penny, breaks up with him, he feels stranded in more ways than one. Without Penny to give him a ride home, he walks the streets alone, and that’s how he discovers the sign advertising “a second chance.” Intrigued, River joins the Second Chance group’s meeting, thinking he has found kindred spirits, but it turns out that the group’s members are struggling with various addictions. Rather than leave, River pretends he has a drug problem, a mistake readers will recognize as the beginning of his downfall long before the lie creates a mess of trouble. More than preaching the virtue of honesty, the book focuses on River’s growing self-awareness, his coming to terms with his failed relationship, his too-passive nature, and how his father’s abandonment has affected him. Intelligent and ironic, the narrative resounds with honesty, even as River himself is quite successful at inventing little white lies. Ages 14–up. Agent: Douglas Stewart, Sterling Lord Literistic. (June)

From the Publisher

"Intelligent and ironic, the narrative resounds with honesty" —Publishers Weekly starred review

School Library Journal

05/01/2016
Gr 9 Up—After River is unceremoniously dumped by his girlfriend on a paddle boat in the middle of a lake, a chance encounter with a Second Chance support group for teens with addictions sends him into a torrent of lies that spiral out of control. Feeling the need for a reason to return, he invents a marijuana addiction, to the suspicion of some members. Although the rules of the support group specifically state that members are not allowed to date, River falls for Daphne, a Latina struggling with her shoplifting addiction. Despite his research into pot addiction (using the blog of a pot-addicted teen to steal his stories at meetings), River must eventually break the real story to Second Chance and to Daphne, which results in unfortunate yet realistic consequences. River has an authentic, funny, and unpredictable voice; although his actions are questionable, they are ultimately rooted in his need to find connections with others. The unique characteristics of Los Angeles neighborhoods, from downtown to Westside, are briefly sketched. River's relationships with his mother and stepfather are genuine yet refreshingly positive, and his interactions with his eight-year-old stepsister are poignant. The culture of group therapy, with its frequent instances of humor and pathos, is aptly captured. An inclusion of a secondary male character with bulimia adds awareness for teens. VERDICT Although not without some problematic issues concerning River's many attempts to contact his girlfriend, this novel is recommended for libraries needing light realistic reads.—Jennifer Schultz, Fauquier County Public Library, Warrenton, VA

JULY 2016 - AudioFile

Narrator Lincoln Hoppe’s slow pace perfectly expresses the personality of 17-year-old River Dean as he tries to meet the challenges in his life. River is stunned and overwhelmed when his girlfriend, Penny, breaks up with him because he “doesn’t think.” Hoppe’s unhurried narration emphasizes River’s torpor, a dullness resulting from his emotional pain. But River is enlivened when he wanders into Second Chance, a group for teens who suffer from addiction. Intrigued by their dynamics and stories, he invents a drug problem and joins them. So begins his stumbling, faltering journey from passivity to self-determination. Hoppe’s reading becomes more animated as River struggles to develop a fuller view of the world and his own truth. In addition, Hoppe vividly portrays the friends and family who buoy River at difficult moments. S.W. © AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine

Kirkus Reviews

2016-03-16
In an ill-advised effort to set his life straight, 17-year-old River Dean fakes a weed addiction and joins a support group for teens. Senior year takes a sour turn for the white teen. Penny Brockaway ends their relationship during a boat trip for his lack of self-reflection. "You just follow along and do what you think you're supposed to." Wandering Los Angeles in a post-breakup daze, River stumbles across a sign: A Second Chance. It refers him to a self-help group, where addictions range from shoplifting to Molly. Believing it'll benefit him in his case with Penny, River feigns an addiction to enlist in the group. "I was taking action. I was doing something." Readers may often find it hard to accept or even like River. Though an absent-father subplot unearths some pathos, his manipulation of the group, obsession with Penny, and obliviousness to his own privilege crush any goodwill. Aside from the loss of Penny, River attempts to reconcile with his estranged friends, whom he's previously neglected. On top of that, he must get his driver's license, since "everybody knows that nobody walks in LA." As he explores a new relationship with a girl from the support group and remakes his life, he finds it difficult to balance his lies. "Penny was right about me. I didn't think about things," he realizes, a valuable epiphany that nevertheless exposes the story's weakness. The novel ends in a buoyant mood, perhaps not entirely earned. (Fiction. 14-18)

Product Details

BN ID:	2940169266795
Publisher:	Penguin Random House
Publication date:	06/14/2016
Edition description:	Unabridged

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