If Truth Be Told by Lynda Fitzgerald

After meeting the boy of her dreams, Christie O'Kelly must overcome obstacles both personal and familial before realizing her happily ever after in this predictable 1970s-set Floridian love story from first-time novelist Fitzgerald. At 14, Christie, running a "bad third" to her older sisters' "picture-book" beauty, encounters Todd Harrington, the college-bound object of her affections-and soon-to-be step-cousin-at her uncle Jack's wedding to Todd's mother, Carly. The attraction isn't mutual, or so it seems, until Todd breathlessly declares his love for Christie during a summer visit home. But a few months later, Todd writes home and announces he's eloped with a girl from school, and Christie develops a grudge against him that will last eight years. Christie, having come into her own as a devoted aunt and journalist, next encounters Todd when he appears at her door and tells Christie that Uncle Jack is sick, and that he is moving back home to help out. Forced by circumstance to interact with Todd, Christie must deal with her uncle's Parkinson's and her own stubborn pride. While Christie inspiringly plays the independent woman card throughout, Fitzgerald fails to deliver nuance or suspense in a plot that never strays from the formula.
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• Hardcover: 390 pages
• Publisher: Five Star (June 20, 2007)
• ISBN-13: 978-1594145681

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