The People We Choose

by Katelyn Detweiler Narrated by Laura Knight Keating

Overview

Calliope Silversmith has always had just two friends, Ginger and Noah, in her small Pennsylvania town, and she's fine with that. She's never wanted anything more than her best friends, her moms, their house in the woods, and their family-run
yoga studio-except maybe knowing who her sperm donor is. Her curiosity has been building for years, and she can finally find out this summer when she turns eighteen.

But when Max and his family move into the house across the woods from Calliope, she realizes it's nice to get to know someone new, so nice that she decides to break her no-dating rule. The stability of her longtime trio wavers as
she and Max start to spend more time together.

When Calliope finally finds out who her sperm donor is, she learns a truth more shocking and unfathomable than she could have ever dreamed: Her donor is Max's father. How is this even possible? As she and Max struggle to redefine their
friendship, Calliope hopes that they can turn a horrific situation into something positive by recognizing and accepting that family isn't just the one we are born into-it can also be the one we choose to make.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

"Detweiler’s prose is richly descriptive, providing solid, vivid images. Offer this one to John Green fans."—Booklist

"Detweiler presents complicated issues with positive, healthy solutions."—School Library Journal

"Family, friendship, and love convene in The People We Choose, Katelyn Detweiler’s sensitive novel about a teenager’s revelatory summer. . . . Wise about irrevocable facts, The People We Choose is a modern novel in which love expands to encompass once-strangers and friendships that are close because of honesty."—Foreword Reviews

"A sweet reminder that family extends beyond the bounds of blood." —Kirkus Reviews

Kirkus Reviews

2021-03-31
Surprising news changes a young woman’s life.

Nothing exciting happens in rural Green Woods, Pennsylvania, and Calliope Silversmith wouldn’t have it any other way. She has the loving guidance of her mothers, Mama and Mimmy, and a siblinglike camaraderie with lifelong best friends Ginger and Noah. Levelheaded Calliope has never been in love and has successfully stuck with her no-dating-before-college rule. Then Max moves in next door. The teens have an instant rapport filled with easy banter—and Calliope’s rule goes out the window. While many almost-18-year-olds are excited to vote or get their first tattoo, Calliope makes an important decision of her own: to contact the sperm donor who made her life possible. Calliope gets the shock of her life when she learns that her donor is Max’s father. With the love and support of her moms and her friends to prove it, Calliope has always known that blood isn’t the only thing that makes a family. She wants to keep Max in her life, but how can she transform romantic love into something acceptable for half siblings? First-person narrator Calliope is self-aware as she struggles to redefine her relationship with Max, and supporting characters have growth arcs that evolve naturally. The plot is neatly divided in two parts: before the news and after. Most characters are White; biracial Max’s mother is Black, and he identifies as Black.

A sweet reminder that family extends beyond the bounds of blood. (Fiction. 14-18)

Product Details

BN ID:	2940173188342
Publisher:	Recorded Books, LLC
Publication date:	07/27/2021
Edition description:	Unabridged

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