My Life Off-Key
My Life Off-Key
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Orca Books
Just the Series: Orca Anchor   

Series and Publisher: Orca Anchor   

Annotation: In this high-interest accessible novel for teen readers, Jen learns that her mom has been keeping a secret: Jen has a biological father who isn't the dad she grew up with. Now this secret threatens to tear their family apart.
 
Reviews: 1
Catalog Number: #6794559
Format: Paperback
Special Formats: High Low High Low
Publisher: Orca Books
Copyright Date: 2024
Edition Date: 2024 Release Date: 02/13/24
Pages: 81 pages
ISBN: 1-459-83479-8
ISBN 13: 978-1-459-83479-8
Dewey: Fic
LCCN: 2023933534
Dimensions: 19 cm.
Language: English
Reviews:
Kirkus Reviews

A teen faces challenges after learning her dad is not her biological father.After Jen's performance at her high school talent show, she's discomfited when an older man in the audience gives her roses-and completely thrown when he tells her that his name is Mike, and he's her father. Jen already has a dad, Steve, but her mom confirms that she had an affair with Mike, that he's Jen's biological father, and that Steve doesn't know. The entire family, including Ella, Jen's 9-year-old sister, must deal with the fallout, especially when Steve moves out. Jen struggles with questions about her identity, whether she's at fault for the problems in her parents' marriage, and if she still has a place in her family. But as she gets to know Mike and his son, her half brother, Jack, and learns about things they have in common, both large (she and Mike are talented musicians) and small (she, Mike, and Jack have the same favorite ice cream flavor), she realizes that she's the same person, and her family is expanding, not shrinking. This accessible novel for reluctant readers puts its protagonist into a high-drama situation; the portrayals of Jen and the other characters do an excellent job of modeling reflecting on one's emotions, asking direct questions, and sharing their feelings with others. Jen and her family read white.Both a coming-of-age story and a road map for processing difficult emotions. (Fiction. 12-18)

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Kirkus Reviews
Reading Level: 5.0
Interest Level: 7-12

Seventeen-year-old Jen is shocked to discover that the dad she grew up with is not her biological father.

Jen loves to sing. But the rest of her family cant carry a tune. When a stranger named Mike gives her roses at her concert and reveals that he is her birth father, Jen's world flips upside down. Mike is a musician, just like Jen, and now she understands why she looks nothing like Steve, the only dad shes ever known.

When Steve learns the truth Jen's mom has been hiding all these years, he moves out, and Jen can't help but feel responsible. Worse, she doesnt know who she is anymore. It feels like her whole life has been a lie. Is Steve still her dad? What about Mike? When it feels like her family is falling apart, Jen doesn't know where she belongs.

This short novel is a high-interest, low-reading level book for teen readers who are building reading skills, want a quick read or say they dont like to read! The epub edition of this title is fully accessible.


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