Secrets of Truth and Beauty

In a beautifully written coming-of-age story, first-time author Frazer shows how an overweight teen gets her groove back. At age seven, Dara Cohen tap-danced and sang her way to stardom, winning the title of Little Miss Maine. Now, at 17, Dara carries a lot of baggage, both around her hips and in her heart (“Here's what happened after the pageant: I got fat”). When her autobiographical English presentation about society's obsession with thinness is horribly misunderstood, Dara decides to seek out her estranged older sister, now living on a Massachusetts goat farm. Although spending a few months with her sister isn't quite what Dara imagines, it is a time of self-discovery. Readers will quickly become intrigued with the unraveling of family secrets and the cast of memorable characters Dara meets on the commune: Owen, a gay high school senior; Owen's sensitive younger brother, Milo; silent Belinda, the matriarch of the farm; and Dara's sister, Rachel, the only person who can answer questions about the girls' troubling family history. Dara emerges as a likable, complex heroine, whose growing self-confidence is touching and inspiring. Ages 12–up. (July)