Chances are good that growing up you knew someone who was never as good as an idealized sibling, constantly a disappointment to the parental units, or at least never celebrated. Maybe you were that someone living in the shadows.
Can you imagine what it would be like if the idealized sibling was dead--their strengths celebrated, their weaknesses forgotten? That's the plight of Hadley, protagonist of Kasie West's Moment of Truth. She was born after her brother, Eric, died of cancer. His truck is mounted on the front lawn. His illness and death have become the family identity. His mother is pretty much taken up with running fund raisers.
When Hadley reminds her mother about the swimming awards banquet at her school which turns out to be the same night as an event her mother assures her that her coach will understand if she doesn't show up.
"Right. I could just use the my brother is dead card. It worked well. 'He might let me out of it, but I also feel like I need to be there to support my teammates.'
'And you don't feel like you need to support your family?'"
Hadley's life centers around competitive swimming, her ticket to college and a chance to escape from a place dominated by Eric's memory. So when a masked serial prankster messes up her timing in a race she's out for vengeance. But unmasking him turns out to much more complicated than she imagined...
...and she might uncover some inconvenient truths about her feelings about the absent brother who's overshadowed her since birth.
Moment of Truth is a perfect blend of lively and breezy with raw and poignant.
On a purrrsonal note, yesterday I had the most awesome early birthday 🎂 🥳 🎉 🎈 🎁 🎊 celebration! I'd told my family what I really wanted the most was to visit Katie in her new house. Eugene and I drove up early and spent the day with Katie and Adam. We did a lot of walking in scenic locations. We had a picnic lunch at a beach. We hung out in Katie and Jacob's beautiful new home. We went to a Goodwill where Eugene bought me a cat shirt and 7 Squishmallows. In other words it was an absolutely purrrfect day.
A great big shout out goes out to Eugene, Katie, Adam, and the Goodwill store that had so many gorgeous Squishmallows.
Jules Hathaway
Sent from my U.S.Cellular© Smartphone
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