Be True to Me

by Adele Griffin

Overview

JEAN:
Could it be true? Instead of a summer playing handmaiden to Daphne, was I being delivered something entirely different—a summer in the spotlight? A summer starring Gil Burke and me?

Summer flings and sexy romances were Daphne's territory. Not mine. I was the one you didn't pick.

I swatted off my hope like a bumblebee, knowing it was already too late. I'd been deliriously stung.

FRITZ:
People always joked about summer romances because they didn't last. Summer romances were made out of ice cream and cotton candy, intensely sweet before they melted into nothing. But I'd never thought of Gil as a summer thing.

Gil was my real love, my real first. We were outsiders together, we had each other, we didn't care that we didn't belong.


 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781616208080
Publisher:	Algonquin Young Readers
Publication date:	05/15/2018
Pages:	352
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.25(h) x (d)
Age Range:	13 - 18 Years

About the Author

Adele Griffin is the acclaimed author of many books for young readers, including The Unfinished Life of Addison Stone and Be True to Me. Adele lives with her husband and children in Brooklyn, New York.

Editorial Reviews

05/01/2017
It’s 1976 in Sunken Haven, a gated beach community on Fire Island. Jean, 16, is ready to dump her longtime beau, Bertie, for a summer romance with Gil, the nephew of another old Sunkie family. But Gil, who grew up in Alabama, has his eye on Fritz, who hails from Louisiana and has spent the last few summers as a guest of her best friend’s family. Though not exactly an outsider, Fritz isn’t considered part of the in crowd because she’s poor. As Gil gets closer to Fritz, Jean’s jealousies and insecurities take hold and she fights for what she believes is rightfully hers, with disastrous consequences. Griffin (The Unfinished Life of Addison Stone) deftly weaves Jean and Fritz’s voices together to explore their rivalry for both Gil and a coveted tennis trophy. She expertly captures the voice of a spoiled rich girl who expects things to go her way merely because they always have, but Fritz remains comparatively enigmatic. Still, it’s a summer read to lose oneself in. Ages 14–up. Agent: Emily van Beek, Folio Literary Management. (June)

Publishers Weekly

Like storm clouds banking over a glittering sea, this heady novel by two-time National Book Award finalist Adele Griffin builds to a dark, surprising climax.”
—The Washington Post

“An atmospheric and engaging piece of historical fiction, this work will haunt and resonate with readers long after it ends. An excellent selection for YA collections.”
—School Library Journal, starred review
“This book beautifully captures that one summer of first love—the excitement, the heartbreak, the way the world will never again look the same. I devoured it in one heady, swoony sitting.”
—Morgan Matson, New York Times bestselling author of The Unexpected Everything 

"This is a glittery gem of a book. I was utterly transported to Fire Island—to endless summer days, girls in sundresses, that rush you get the first time you fall hard in love. I fell so hard in love with this book."
—Jenny Han, New York Times Bestselling author of To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before 

“Perfectly captures both the blinding brightness of summer love and the encroaching darkness of two girls competing for the same boy. I couldn’t put this delicious book down.”
—Siobhan Vivian, New York Times Bestselling author of The List

“Meticulous prose.”
—Kirkus Reviews

“As much sociology, and sometimes satire, as romance, the story is a compelling one that will surely have widespread appeal.”
—Booklist

From the Publisher

Jean Custis spends every summer with her family at their house in Sunken Haven, an exclusive private community on Fire Island. It is a world of parties and privilege, and Jean is especially excited about this summer. With her older sister off in Spain, the summer of 1976 will be Jean’s time to shine. She has already caught the eye of Gil Burke, the handsome, long-lost nephew of her godfather. They spent a romantic evening in New York City, and Jean is hoping that a relationship will develop over the summer. When Gil arrives on the island, however, he is immediately drawn to Fritz O’Neil, who spends each summer in Sunken Haven as the guest of her best friend. After years of summering in the community, Fritz is still seen as an outsider by Sunken Haven’s elite. Jean is not letting go of Gil without a fight, and as Jean and Fritz compete for Gil’s attention and affection, Jean makes a choice that has dire consequences. Griffin deftly manages a plot that could have easily turned into an over-the-top soap opera. While this romance has the makings of a light, beach read, it successfully navigates deeper and darker themes of belonging and desire. Told in alternating voices, both Jean and Fritz are well-developed: their emotions will feel painfully familiar to teens. This relatability, as well as the evocative setting, makes for a compulsively readable story. Recommend this book to fans of Jenny Han and Morgan Matson, particularly those looking for something a little darker. Reviewer: Bethany Martin; Ages 15 to 18.

VOYA, June 2017 (Vol. 40, No. 2) - Bethany Martin

★ 04/01/2017
Gr 8 Up—Eager to escape her sister's shadow for the summer, privileged but insecure Jean Custis is delighted to meet newcomer Gil Burke one early June night. Yet within a matter of days, Gil has been intercepted by Fritz, a girl with no family connections to the small town of Sunken Harbor, who humiliated Jean in last year's tennis playoff. As both girls interact with Gil through the summer of 1976, their relationships grow complicated and eventually lead to disastrous consequences for all three. Set against the backdrop of a Long Island beach town in the 1970s, Griffin's latest is peppered with historical references without being heavy-handed. From the evocative descriptions of the sun-drenched setting down to the tiny details of rickrack being sewn onto a summer dress, this book is an immersive experience. The dual perspectives work well; the protagonists have two very distinct narrative voices. The feeling of dread that permeates the latter half of the novel comes to a head, and the concluding chapters will have readers racing to reach the final pages. Some sexual content and an unhappy ending make this a better choice for mature readers. VERDICT An atmospheric and engaging piece of historical fiction, this work will haunt and resonate with readers long after it ends. An excellent selection for YA collections.—Erinn Black Salge, Saint Peter's Prep, NJ

School Library Journal

2017-03-20
In 1976, handsome and charming Gil's arrival in an exclusive, white, summer-island community inflames two girls' rivalry with disastrous results.The novel's opening scene reveals an unidentified girl on the verge of drowning and surprised that Gil isn't there to save her. The rest of the novel is a flashback of Gil's ultimately unsuccessful attempts to juggle the romantic attachments of two island girls. Jean's family belongs on the island, as proven by the Junior Cup tennis trophy inscribed with her mother's and sister's names. So it was bitter for Jean to lose it the previous summer to Fritz, a working-class white girl invited to the island each year by her best friend's family. Jean's unhappiness grows when Gil, the long-lost nephew of a prominent islander, arrives and immediately begins dating Fritz, although he'd already met and kissed Jean in New York City. Determined to climb the social ladder using his rich family's acceptance, Gil treats both girls callously. Even still, Jean constantly schemes to win his affections, poor Fritz falls in love with him, and readers await the approaching, seemingly inevitable tragedy, which unfolds in Griffin's customarily meticulous prose. A reminder, if one is still needed, that it doesn't pay to be the interloper in a community of rich, upper-crust-society snobs. (Historical fiction. 14-18)

Kirkus Reviews