True (...Sort of) by Katherine Hannigan: Must-Read Middle-Grade

Delly (Delaware) Pattison knows that she's everything they say she is. She's trouble, she's bad, she's hopeless. She doesn't mean to be, but she also doesn't know how not to be. Everything she thinks will be great fun turns to trouble, and if ever she needed a surpresent (a surprise that turns into a present) it's now. Brud Kinney wants to play basketball like nobody's ever seen, and when the Boyds arrive, Brud meets somebody who plays like he's never seen. Ferris Boyd is unlike anyone Brud or Delly have ever met, but she will impact both of their lives like they could never have imagined, and nothing will ever be the same.

I LOVED this book so much, I seriously have been waiting all day for a quiet moment to rave about it. This is a gem of a book that really gets under your skin and is completely unforgettable.

Eleven-year-old Delly knows that she's bad. She doesn't mean to be bad-really she doesn't, but everybody's been telling her she's trouble for so long, she knows in her heart it's true. All the trouble and the hurt is replaced with mad, and comes out as  fighting and yelling, inevitably getting her into more trouble. But the thing about Delly is that she isn't bad at all. She's got a big heart, and is such an original spirit that the adults around her just don't really get her.

The real truth, is that all Delly really wants is to make her mother proud, and this, along with her brother RB's suggestion that she count and ask questions when she wants to yell or fight, helps her to start controlling her behaviour. The trouble with questions though, is that sometimes the answers can hurt,

The game changer in Delly's life is Ferris Boyd- the boy who's actually a girl, who doesn't speak and can't be touched.  Ferris is a real puzzle to Delly, and Delly finds herself wanting to be her friend. The way their friendship develops is beautifully written. Their friendship makes Delly's heart hurt just a little bit less each day, and Ferris gradually brings out the gentle and softness that she'd lost.

This book has the same kind of classic potential as Bridge to Terabithia.  It is a book about children who find each other and need one another whether they realize it or not. It's a book about keeping secrets and trusting the right people with secrets, and about understanding that a friendship is something you share- not keep for yourself.

There are so many things to love about this book, but you'll have to read it to discover them all for yourself.