A review by nerfherder86
Say the Word by Jeannine Garsee

5.0

High school senior Shawna has her world pretty much begin to crumble when the phone call arrives--her mother is in the hospital, probably not going to make it. But as she goes to New York to visit her, she's not sure how she should feel: this is the same mother who abruptly left Shawna and her dad in their Ohio home when Shawna was only seven, to live with another woman, Fran ("the Frankfurter" as Shawna's best friend LeeLee calls her). So Shawna hasn't had that great of a relationship with her since. At school she's been teased for having a gay mom. It's hard enough to keep her grades up to get into college and med school without that added pressure. When Mom dies, Shawna's controlling father not only uproots Fran's family by selling their house out from under them, but soon he learns that one of Fran's sons may actually be HIS son--Shawna wonders how her mother could possibly have left her and never told her she had a baby brother? Now Dad wants to get custody of the 10-year old boy. And why is LeeLee so chummy with the girl she met at Mom's funeral? Just what Shawna needs, jealousy on top of everything else she's feeling....

A really good book about relationships and forgiveness and family dynamics; I enjoyed Shawna's dark sense of humor and zingers, whether just thought or spoken aloud. Excellent characters and some suspense, too, as you get pulled into this family saga, wondering what could possibly happen next. There are some hidden secrets, too, that come to light later.