To Be Perfectly Honest: A Novel Based on an Untrue Story

Sonya Sones‘ latest verse novel, To Be Perfectly Honest, tells the story of 15 year old Colette’s summer in San Luis Obispo, babysitting her 7 year old brother Will, while her utterly famous mother films yet another Hollywood blockbuster.  Having been forced to give up her planned summer trip to Paris to be exiled in nowhere, California, Colette is bitter, angry, and pouting.  Life couldn’t be worse as day after day of boredom looms ahead of her with nothing to look forward to and no one her own age to hang with.  But when she and Will run into a beautiful stranger with a motorcycle, things suddenly look up.  This gorgeous guy, this perfect guy, Connor, is both into Colette and patient with precocious Will and he quickly charms his way into Colette’s up-till-now-boring summer exile.  As Colette finds herself falling head over heels in love with Connor, three big problems loom: first Colette is sure that once Connor finds out who her mother really is, he’ll lose interest in her, just like everyone else does; second, she’s told him she’s 18 and he’s moving just a little too fast towards intimacy; and third, falling in love makes Colette question her “habit” of telling lies and making up stories, because if she can’t even be honest with Connor, is there any hope that she’ll ever be honest with anyone about anything?

Some of the poems in To Be Perfectly Honest are stand-alone gems, capturing the ache of first love, the sometimes confusing, sometimes painful struggle to grow up, and the gut-wrenching agony of betrayal.  Through Colette, Sones also explores larger themes, including developing healthy relationships, setting limits, defining oneself, and evaluating what is real.  Sure to appeal to fans of Sones’ earlier works, To Be Perfectly Honest is also a solid choice for romantics and anyone who appreciates an honest, authentic voice.

• Posted by Cori