ALA Booklist (Tue Mar 01 00:00:00 CST 2016)

They say opposites attract, and that's certainly the case with needy, awkward 15-year-old Frannie. She is fascinated by her sophisticated, self-contained (and gay) 17-year-old cousin Tru, who has come to spend the summer with Frannie's family. As Frannie gets to know him better, she realizes he is more complicated than she had first thought. In the meantime, she meets three boys who have a band and become infatuated with one of them, Devon, who is black, which raises considerations of race that are a leitmotif of the novel. But it is Frannie's relationship with Tru that is the real force driving this character-rich work of literary fiction. Frannie may be a bit too awkward and self-doubting for some readers' tastes, but Tru is endlessly intriguing, and his evolving relationship with Frannie is wholly believable and emotionally engaging. In the end, this is a quiet novel about a quiet girl. And that's just as it should be.

Horn Book (Mon Aug 01 00:00:00 CDT 2016)

Fifteen-year-old Frannie's older male cousin, Tru, comes to stay with her family after--she believes--a bad coming-out experience. She's determined to spend the summer bonding with her aloof, moody cousin, but new relationships help Frannie examine her own privilege and understand that nobody, including Tru, is exactly who they seem to be. Ideal for fans of E. Lockhart and cool, atmospheric narratives.

Kirkus Reviews

Fifteen-year-old Frannie idolizes her older cousin, Tru, but their summer together reveals some uncomfortable truths In her debut novel, Hattrup explores issues of race, class, and sexuality mostly from a distance, through the lens of white, presumably heterosexual Frannie. Frannie's 17-year-old cousin, Tru, is gay, and Frannie believes he has been sent to stay with her family in Baltimore for the summer as a result of coming out to his parents. Frannie hopes that Tru will be a bright spot in an otherwise miserable summer; she longs for Tru to see her as confident and sophisticated. Because her father is out of work, Frannie has to leave Catholic school to attend a predominantly black public magnet school—but the entire story takes place the summer before Frannie changes schools. During the summer, Frannie befriends some black kids, thanks to Tru, but aside from a couple of awkward scenes, race is mostly dealt with through Frannie's anxious thoughts. Hattrup captures Frannie's insecurities and shyness well, but these traits aren't enough to make her a compelling character. Similarly, Frannie's relationship with Tru makes for a very thin plot and very little tension. Most of the drama occurs in the last third of the book, and much of that comes across as too-little-too-late or contrived. With nothing significant at stake for its main character, the novel lacks the depth to deliver on its back-cover promise to confront issues of race, class, and sexuality. (Fiction. 14-18)

Voice of Youth Advocates

Frannie Little is about to face her fifteenth summer, and she is determined to make something of itand herself. It is a summer of change already: her family's financial struggles mean that they cannot afford her school tuition for the following year, and so in the fall she will be starting at a new school with strangers. Because of this, her friends have made her a subject of gossip. Then there is Tru, her mysterious cousin sent to live with them for the summer. He is cultured and wild, privileged and charming, and Frannie feels for him immediately when she pieces together that he has been exiled because he is gay. As Tru schools her in quintessential teen experiences and she begins to find herself beyond the quiet, studious good girl, Frannie discovers that much of Tru's bravado is a faþade. By August, certain truths will force her to rethink the way she sees herself, her family, and others.As an honest, revealing, coming-of-age story, this novel will appeal to a wide-range of readers. Frannie's voice is an authentic mix of sincerity and naivetÚ as she struggles with self confidence and first love; family conflict; and, as she is educated in the politics of identity, race, class, and sexuality. As Frannie contends with new experiences and ideas over the course of the summer and struggles to discover who she really is, the novel poses important questions for the reader about these social constructs, and the conflict between perception and reality.Courtney Huse Wika.