I'm Not Her by Janet Gurtler

Tess knows exactly what she wants out of school. She wants to make the Honor Society, and to do that she needs excellent grades and a lot of volunteer hours. She wants to study art, so she'll have to build up an impressive portfolio to convince her parents that it's the right path for her. She's really different from her sister, Kristina - the beautiful, popular volleyball star. Then Kristina gets bone cancer, and suddenly everything is up in the air. They don't know how sick Kristina will get. They don't know if she'll lose her leg. They don't know if she'll live. How can Tess keep on living her life when Kristina's facing death?

It's always hard to be so enthusiastic about a book that has difficult subject matter, but there is so much great stuff in this book. Tess is a such a great character.. She feels guilt, frustration, anger, fear, and so much more. I was so involved with the book that when she got verbally slapped by one character, I felt stung. At some points it felt like there was a lot going on in the story and it was all quite dramatic, but I liked that - it reminded me that just because one person is dealing with something the world does not stop. I was a bit surprised by the ending, but it, too, emphasized the theme that the world does keep on turning. I can't wait for her next book, due out this fall.

(I've chosen this post for today because today is Canada Day, and I wanted to celebrate a Canadian author. Check out my other posts tagged as Canadian and then enjoy a butter tart or a beaver tail or poutine or something.)

Visit Janet Gurtler's website.

Find it at IndieBound.

Read it with:
Between Here and Forever by Elizabeth Scott
If I Tell by Janet Gurtler
I Know It's Over by C.K. Kelly Martin
The Six Rules of Maybe by Deb Caletti
The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson