What happens when everything you thought was true about your life turns out to be a lie? Thirteen-year-old T. J. always believed that her twin sister and her mother were dead―because that’s what her father had told her. But Mom and Sam are very much alive. And now they want T. J. to be part of their family. When T. J. reluctantly visits her mom and Sam for the first time, she is stunned by how similar she is to her twin sister, even though their lives have been very different. But while she is drawn to her new family, she is also wary of becoming attached to them and hurting her father’s feelings. Then when her father suffers a debilitating accident and tries to ensnare T. J. in another web of lies, her loyalties are finally tested. In this thought-provoking companion to Do You Know the Monkey Man?, Dori Hillestad Butler creates a complex portrait of a family in crisis. Her skillful portrayal of T. J., a conflicted adolescent struggling with her identity, will resonate with readers.
Author
Dori Hillestad Butler grew up writing, for she had no brothers or sisters to play with until she was eight years old. The first book she published was The Great Tooth Fairy Rip-Off , it took her many years to sell that book, followed by four more picture books. She then started writing YA books short stories have appeared in anthologies entitled, The Green Umbrella and Other Sports Stories (Highlights for Children, 1995) and Not the Only One (Alyson Publications, 1994) and in magazines including Cricket, Spider, Highlights for Children, Children's Digest, Child Life and a variety of Sunday School publications. Dori also writes educational materials, edit stories for www.storydog.com, and has a regular book review coloumn in her local newspaper. She currently lives in Coralville, Iowa with her husband, two sons, Ben and Andy, a black cocker spaniel named Molly, a cat named Ashley and a betta fish named Willie.
