Yours Truly: A Novel

Angell, Judie

ISBN 10: 0531086224 ISBN 13: 9780531086223

Publisher: Orchard Books, 1993

Synopsis

The return of her father, a former drug addict, after several years' absence, forces Nicki to confront her feelings about both of her parents, school, personal freedom, and her own way of life.

About this title

From Publishers Weekly:

After the disappearance of her cocaine-addict father, Nicki resents her mother for being so eager to move the family away from New Hampshire and to start a new life with her business partner/boyfriend. While little brother Jerry has no trouble adjusting to life in New York City, Nicki turns rebellious and gets involved with a group of "fast" older kids. Trouble brews when the 13-year-old begins skipping school, staying out late and dating an ex-gang-member. Although some of the subsequent events (a friend's fatal accident, the death of a trusted guidance counselor) are predictable, Angell's ( The Buffalo Nickel Blues Band ; Don't Rent My Room ) messages about self-deception and self-control remain provocative. Only after Nicki reunites with her father and realizes that he will never change does she decide to take more responsibility for her own life. This disturbing contemporary novel offers a perceptive take on a bitter girl desperately searching for love. If readers are critical of Nicki's actions, they will empathize with her feelings of loyalty to her father and her anger toward those encouraging her to forget him. This painfully realistic account of the build-up and breakdown of a teen's defenses will not soon be forgotten. Ages 12-up.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews:

After her parents separate because of her father's involvement with drugs, Nicole recounts her own drifting journey of self-discovery. Missing New Hampshire, unhappy in Queens, she resents her mother's new partner, who eventually becomes her fianc‚. Nicole joins an older crowd with gang connections; skips school; tries alcohol, cigarettes, and dope; and begins--at 14--a sexual relationship because she ``wouldn't want to lose Ray.'' When her father finally reappears, she moves in with him to escape her mother's belated supervision; her relationships with her group disintegrate, and she tires of her dead-end job and of doing housework for her father, who's apparently still involved with drugs. Still, she begins to imagine better possibilities for herself if she can turn her life around. A bleak book, far less frothy than some of Angell's recent offerings, that offers some hope--Nicole still cares and has real strengths, though after more than two years of turmoil and reassessment the outlook for her remains precarious. (Fiction. 12+) -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

About this edition

• Publisher: Orchard Books
• Publication date: 1993
• ISBN 10: 0531086224
• ISBN 13: 9780531086223
• Binding: Library Binding
• Number of pages: 184