About this item
For fans of Sarah Dessen, Jennifer Smith, E.L. Lockhart, and John Green, this delightful, often comic coming-of-age novel stars the lovable, brokenhearted River, the streets of LA, and an irresistible cast of characters. Seventeen-year-old River doesn't know what to do with himself when Penny, the girl he adores, breaks up with him. He lives in LA, where nobody walks anywhere, and Penny was his ride; he never bothered getting a license. He's stuck. He's desperate. Okay . . . he's got to learn to drive.But first, he does the unthinkable - he starts walking. He stumbles upon a support group for teens with various addictions. He fakes his way into the meetings, and begins to connect with the other kids, especially an amazing girl. River wants to tell the truth, but he can't stop lying, and his tangle of deception may unravel before he learns how to handle the most potent drug of all: true love. Praise for Tell Us Something True "I promise you'll fall in love with River Dean, even though he's a faker, a stalker, a non-driver, a bad dancer, a bad friend and a codependent mess. He's funny and he's true. His heart is smashed six different ways and he's trying to mend it with tacos and lies - but isn't that true of all of us?" - E. Lockhart, New York Times bestselling author of We Were Liars "A heartfelt tale that elevates truth over passion and friends over lovers. Reinhardt keeps it real. Much respect." - Matthew Quick, author of The Silver Linings Playbook and Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock "A sharp-witted, hilarious, and addicting novel about being lost and discovering your best self. Highly recommended!" - Adam Silvera, New York Times bestselling author of More Happy Than Not "Oh, how I love a novel where the hero ties himself up, Houdini style, and dives into his own predicament. Once again Dana Reinhardt has written a charming, compassionate, very clever comedy, and this one reminds us how a big lie can reveal the truth." - Laura McNeal, author of Dark Water, National Book Award Finalist "Tell Us Something True is hope, it is humanity, it is original, funny, wrenching, real, and intelligently surprising." - Beth Kephart, author of Small Damages, Going Over, and This Is the Story of You "When you start reading a Dana Reinhardt book, it's like discovering a new friend. By the time you've turned the final page it's like saying goodbye to your best friend, and I can think of nothing better to ask of a writer." - Markus Zusak, author of The Book Thief
About the Author
Why don't you have a bio section? Because I hate writing about myself.But wouldn't that be easier than answering a whole bunch of FAQs? Maybe. Probably. Go on... So where are you from? I'm from Los Angeles, but now I live in San Francisco. Except for the summers where I go back to Los Angeles in search of the sun. What are you doing when you aren't writing? Laundry, usually. Sometimes dishes. And I really like to walk near the Golden Gate Bridge. Why don't you run instead of walk? Running is hard. And I'm sort of lazy. Have you ever had a real job? Yes. Of course I have. I've waited tables, worked with adolescents in foster care, read the slush pile at a publishing house, and fact checked for a movie magazine. I also worked for FRONTLINE on PBS and Peter Jennings at ABC. I went to law school, which I know doesn't count as a job, but hey, that was a lot of work. What's your writing day like? Do you stick to a routine? I like to write in the mornings. Sometimes that means I have to get up really early. I try to write 700 words a day -- about three pages. I know there are lots of writers out there who can write way more than that. I know this because writers like to tell you about how many words they've written on FACEBOOK. So I try not to look at FACEBOOK when I'm writing. And anyway, I've learned that 700 words are about all I'm good for on any given day, and if I write more than that I usually end up getting rid of most of it later. What, are you lazy or something? I already told you I'm lazy. But seriously, 700 words are a lot of words. 700 of them, to be precise. Are your books autobiographical? Not really. I've been on vacation in Mexico, but everything went just fine and I had a lovely time. I'm not adopted, I've never told a lie that sent someone to jail, I've never built a house or had a brother go to war. But there are always things in my books that come from my life or from the lives of the people around me. It would be impossible to make up everything. You used to write young adult fiction and now you've written an adult book. What gives? I started out writing young adult fiction because I was a young adult when I fell in love with reading and I can remember how books made me feel back then. How they provided both comfort and escape. That might make me sound like a shut-in, but I wasn't. I was just open to the experience books offered, probably more open than I am now as an adult. And I like writing for that sort of audience.But young adult books have to, by definition, be about young adults. And after writing eight of them, I started to feel like there were adult issues and characters I was interested in exploring. How come there aren't any vampires or wizards in your books? Hmmmm... good question. Maybe I should write about vampires and wizards. No, you shouldn't. You wouldn't be very good at that.Thanks for the vote of confidence. Did you wear
