#16 Things I Thought Were True by Janet Gurtler

Standalone. Sourcebooks Fire (March 2014) NetGalley

Heart attacks happen to other people 

#thingsIthoughtweretrue 

When Morgan's mom gets sick, it's hard not to panic. Without her mother, she would have no one—until she finds out the dad who walked out on her as a baby isn't as far away as she thought...

Adam is a stuck-up, uptight jerk #thingsIthoughtweretrue

Now that they have a summer job together, Morgan's getting to know the real Adam, and he's actually pretty sweet...in a nerdy-hot kind of way. He even offers to go with her to find her dad. Road trip, anyone?

5000 Twitter followers are all the friends I need #thingsIthoughtweretrue 

With Adam in the back seat, a hyper chatterbox named Amy behind the wheel, and plenty of Cheetos to fuel their trip, Morgan feels ready for anything. She's not expecting a flat tire, a missed ferry, a fake girlfriend...and that these two people she barely knew before the summer started will become the people she can't imagine living without.

I had such a great experience with my last road trip book that I couldn't wait to get into 16 Things I Thought Were True. Since I was looking forward the most to that part of the book it was a shame there wasn't a longer ride with Morgan and her new friends. But, the focus on family and Morgan branching out and gaining independence made me really enjoy this book.

A while back now Morgan lost her best friend and gained a massive amount of embarrassment when a video of her dancing in boys underwear became viral. This could have gone south but the way social media was integrated into the story was done really well. I'm sure bloggers have felt the pressure and pride Morgan felt when gaining new followers. Morgan just took it to a whole new level however, with the help of some new friends she was able to get her head away from gaining new followers to gaining new real relationships. 

The one thing or shall I say person that annoyed me was Morgan's mother who kept her daughter in the dark as to who her father was. Not only that, she puts so much pressure on Morgan to be the responsible one and to take care of her brothers even though they are older than her. Her mother really frustrated me. I couldn't understand where she was coming from. She was only thinking about herself not her daughter. Things get even crazier once Morgan meets her dad at the end of her road trip. 

Although part of Morgan's family frustrated me it was also the best part of the book. I loved how everyone came together when Morgan's mother needed to go to the hospital. The twin brothers were such characters. I really liked their different personalities clashing (in a good way) with Morgan's new friends. It's really the characters in general that made this book shine.

Adam is Morgan's demanding manager who makes a complete 180 when she needs someone to take her to the hospital. He's a nerdy sweet guy who gets a bad wrap because he's the boss. He was an alright character compared to Amy, a super hyper girl who has no filter. At first I was worried that she spoke her mind too much like a kid who's parents are embarrassed by what comes out of their child's mouth but then I got to know her personality and I grew to care about her maybe even more than Morgan. I usually don't like secondary characters as much as I liked Amy and Morgan's twin brothers yet with this book everything was turned around on it's head. I did like Morgan though. When the story got into the road trip and what occurred afterwards it really took shape into something great. I'd recommend this book more if you want a good story about family and character growth with a small side of road trip fun.