Frazer, Megan. Secrets of Truth & Beauty. 2009. 347p. Hyperion, $15.99. (978-142311711-7). Gr. 9-12.

At age seven, Dara was a darling pageant winner; at 17, she has gained too much weight and anger, a fact that leads her to find the sister who ran away from home 17 years earlier on a commune that includes a gay high school senior and her lesbian sister. Dara’s road to self-discovery unravels the family secrets and her personal road to acceptance. The depictions of the memorable characters are right on, and Dara’s characterization is particularly complex. In her first novel, Frazer pursues such issues as attitudes toward lesbians and gays as well as the obsession with thinness as a mark of beauty. –Nel Ward