Seven Ways We Lie

Debut author Redgate neatly captures the heart, soul, and social intricacies of a high school in a conservative Kansas City suburb. This story of seven teenagers, all high school juniors carrying significant emotional baggage tied to the seven deadly sins, revolves around the pitfalls of hiding one's true self and the redeeming power of friendship. The teens%E2%80%94whose difficulties include being abandoned by a negligent mother, addiction, and self-loathing%E2%80%94tell their stories in alternating first-person narratives. The seven stories and characters come together as the school reels from a rumor that a student is having an affair with a teacher. Redgate writes with much insight into the complicated world of contemporary high school, revealing both its hard edges (the taunts of jocks toward an eccentric outcast, vicious rumor mills) and its tender underbelly (the loyalty of friends, the pain of a broken first love, the excitement of new romance). By book's end, readers will feel like they have seven new friends. Ages 13%E2%80%93up Agent: Caryn Wiseman, Andrea Brown Literary Agency. (Mar.)