Wills, Aurelia. Someone I Wanted To Be.

Wills, Aurelia.  Someone I Wanted To Be.           Candlewick Press     2016    324p    $17.99 ISBN 978-0-7636-8156-2      hs        Realistic fiction  VG-BN          

Leah Lobermier wants to become a doctor but finds it difficult to focus on achieving good grades when she is mercilessly teased by her classmates at school about her weight and must deal with her alcoholic mother at home.  Kristy and Corinne, “frenemies” at best, are with Leah the night when the girls convince a handsome older man to buy them beer.  Leah gets the man’s phone number and calls him, pretending to be coy and confident Kristy.  The relationship quickly grows out of control and becomes an unhealthy one that blossoms through talking and texting.  How can Leah put a stop to things before she -- or Kristy -- is seriously hurt?

With well-drawn, complex characters and a powerful sense of place, Wills inexorably draws readers into Leah’s dilemma.  Teen readers will identify with the authentic issues of self-image, bullying, and coming of age.  Unvarnished, believable, and compelling, the climax is simultaneously poignant and promising.  

Summary:  An insecure teen impersonates someone else as her life spirals dangerously out of control.       

Coming-of-age-Fiction, Bullying-Fiction                                                                    —Hilary Welliver