The Truth About Leaving

by Natalie Blitt

Overview

Lucy Green thought she had her senior year in the bag. Cute boyfriend? Check. College plan? Check.
 
But when her boyfriend dumps her the week before school starts and she literally stumbles into Dov, the new Israeli transfer student, on her first day of school, Lucy’s carefully mapped-out future crumbles.
 
Determined to have a good senior year, and too busy trying to hold her family together while her mom is across the country working, Lucy ignores the attraction she feels to Dov. But soon, Lucy and Dov’s connection is undeniable. Lucy begins to realize that sometimes, you have to open yourself up to chance. Even if the wrong person at the wrong time is a boy whose bravery you admire and who helps you find your way back to yourself. 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781948705097
Publisher:	Chicago Review Press, Incorporated
Publication date:	03/05/2019
Pages:	304
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 7.90(h) x 0.90(d)
Age Range:	13 - 18 Years

About the Author

Natalie Blitt is originally from Canada but now lives in the Chicago area with her husband and three sons, where she dreams up young adult novels.

Her first novel, The Distance from A to Z, has been called "swoon-worthy," "smart," and "heart-warming." Natalie currently works at an education think tank. She knows a lot about baseball. She has no choice.

Editorial Reviews

Featured in Barnes & Noble's March 5 new release list —https://www.barnesandnoble.com/blog/teen/new-releases-trains-tropes-and-time-travel/


Featured in Alma's (Jewish women's outlet) list "12 Jewish YA Books You'll Want to Read in 2019" —https://www.heyalma.com/12-jewish-ya-books-youll-want-to-read-in-2019

From the Publisher

Lucy Green has every intention of getting through her senior year without the distraction of dating. The sting of being dumped by her college-bound boyfriend is still too real, and she’s needed at home to babysit her two little brothers. Besides, she has to keep her grades up if her early-decision college application is going to be accepted. But when she’s partnered in poetry class with Dov, a new transfer student from Israel, attraction inconveniently rears its head. Lucy has a lot on her plate, and Blitt competently depicts her struggle to balance family expectations and obligations with personal happiness. Her relationship with Dov is sweet but complicated, given his determination to return to Israel in a year and join the army. This and stresses at home push her to look more deeply at her once-obvious decisions to give up ballet and to go to college. Many teens will identify with the pressures that accompany high-school graduation, and they’ll appreciate how the story places a positive emphasis on self-care and pursuing one’s passions. — Julia Smith

Booklist

2018-10-23

Writing about nice people is always a risk.

Lucy and Dov may be nice, but that doesn't mean they're happy. Dov's brother died in a sudden accident, and Lucy has just been dumped by her boyfriend. And Dov, a transfer student from Israel, isn't always nice. He can be argumentative and sometimes refuses to speak at all. But for most of the novel, the two of them get along so well that there's no conflict. They drink cider and eat doughnuts. They talk about poetry. The book's central dilemma is that any relationship they have will be short-lived; Dov wants to serve in the Israeli army, while Lucy has plans to go to college near her family in Chicago (With few physical descriptions, the characters seem to be more multinational than racially diverse. Dov has blue eyes, and Lucy's best friend is described as pale. Lucy's grandmother has a female partner.) Creative readers will come up with all sorts of ways to solve the problem, but in the book, even after a solution presents itself, the characters keep on arguing. Maybe they just love drama. In one scene, Dov moodily decides to go running during a tornado watch.

Happy families may not all be alike, but they can be a little dull. Still, the characters are so well-drawn that many readers will have a very nice time in their company. (Fiction. 14-19)

Kirkus Reviews