Content: G
BUYING ADVISORY: EL, MS - ADVISABLE
APPEALS TO: SEVERAL
12yo Priya has a lot on her mind. Her parents are constantly fighting, she's being bullied at school, and the demands of competitive gymnastics leave little time for anything else. Determined to convince everyone that she's fine, Priya lies to her parents about school, hides the problems at home from her friends, and pretends to her coach that she's fully committed to the sport. The one person she could always be honest with was her grandmother—but she passed away a year ago.
When Priya puts on a bangle left to her by her grandmother, she discovers that she can no longer tell a lie. Sometimes the truth is embarrassing, and sometimes it gets her into trouble. As Priya navigates the challenges of family, friendship, and gymnastics, she must learn that honesty is about more than simply telling the truth—it's also about being honest with herself while finding ways to care for the people she loves.
I appreciated the book's message about the importance of truth and learning how to share it in ways that are honest without unnecessarily hurting others. Navigating honesty in relationships is an important skill, and Priya's journey highlights both the challenges and rewards of being truthful. Her inability to lie leads to several funny and relatable situations that add humor to the story. While I enjoyed the characters and themes, Priya and her friends sometimes handled complex situations at home and school with a level of maturity that felt a bit beyond what most 12-year-olds would realistically demonstrate.
Priya is Indian, Mei is Chinese and LGBTQ+ and Sami is Jewish.
Reviewer: A. Snow, Librarian
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