My So-Called Family

When Leah Hoffman-Ross's family moves shortly before the start of eighth grade, she seizes the opportunity to pass for “normal”—in other words, to conceal that in place of a dad she has Donor 730 from a Maryland sperm bank. Everything goes swimmingly—Leah makes new friends easily and gets along with her mom, stepfather and brainy five-year-old half-brother—until she slips up, in a typical 13-year-old's dilemma, and doesn't handle a curfew correctly. Grounded, furious at her parents, she looks up the sperm bank on the Internet and discovers a link for a sibling registry. First-time novelist Sheinmel, a PW reviewer, motivates Leah insightfully and sympathetically—readers will understand her conflicts, both petty and major, as she gets to know another daughter of Donor 730 and keeps it a secret from her disapproving mother (“She's not your sister,” her mother insists when she finds out). As narrator, Leah's voice is right on key, whether describing the give-and-take of family life or revelations about what constitutes family. Smart, original and full of vitality. Ages 9–12. (Oct.)