Trusting You and Other Lies by Nicole Williams - AVERAGE

Trusting You and Other Lies by Nicole Williams, 290 pages. Crown Books (Random House Children’s Books), 2017. $17.99

Language: R (85 swears, 0 “f”); Mature Content: PG13 (partial nudity, conversation about sex); 

Violence: PG (side comment about hanging oneself)

BUYING ADVISORY: HS – OPTIONAL

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE

Summer break is freedom—except when your dysfunctional family is signed up to go a family camp for the entire summer. Phoenix is sure this is going to be the worst summer ever for her, so she’s focused on helping her little brother (the only one excited for camp) have the best time possible. When they arrive at Camp Kismet and start participating, though, Phoenix finds that maybe a summer together in a cabin can help her family.

Williams blessed her main characters with great sense of humor that had me laughing aloud every other chapter. The overarching theme of the book is about trusting yourself and others, and I like how Williams did that with Phoenix’s family relationships more than the romantic relationships. Trust issues with her significant other felt more ridiculous and repetitive, but the trust issues with Phoenix’s family felt more relevant in attitude and resolution.

Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen