The People We Choose by Katelyn Detweiler
Genre: Young Adult Contemporary
Publishing Date: May 4, 2021
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When 17-year-old Calliope meets her new neighbor Max, their connection is instantaneous, but the revelation of her sperm donor’s identity changes everything.
Calliope Silversmith has always had just two friends in her small Pennsylvania town, Ginger and Noah, and she’s fine with that. She’s never wanted anything more than her best friends, her moms, their house in the woods, and their family-run yoga studio—except maybe knowing who her sperm donor is. Her curiosity has been building for years, and she can finally find out this summer when she turns eighteen.
Then Max and his family move into the house across the woods from Calliope, and she immediately feels a special connection with her new neighbor, one that feels different than just friendship. The stability of her longtime trio wavers over the next few weeks as she and Max start to spend more time together.
But when Calliope makes contact with her sperm donor she learns a surprising truth: her donor is Max’s father. How is this even possible?
As she and Max struggle to redefine their friendship now that they know they’re half-siblings, Calliope realizes she has much to gain by recognizing and accepting that family is both the one she has been born into, and the one she chooses to make.
Perfect for readers looking for stories about family dynamics and fans of The Other F-Word by Natasha Friend.
My Review:
I absolutely adored this book and think everyone, especially those who come from “different” family dynamics should read. As someone who grew up with family that I know exist but I have no connection to and having family that I’m not related to by blood, family is 100% what you make it and that is what this book teaches. Noah, Calliope, Mama, Mimmy, Ginger, Max, Elliott and Marlow are family whether they are by blood or by choice. Some of them have been together since the beginning of their lives and some of them just met this summer and have a bond they didn’t know was possible. Whatever the case, they’ve become family and without family what is the point of it all?
“There are different kinds of family, I guess. Some share DNA. Some don’t. I don’t think one is better or more real than the other. Just because people share DNA doesn’t mean they always get along, right? There’s more to it than genetics. Families come together in all different ways.”
If you haven’t found your family yet just know they’re out there, waiting to be found, waiting to be created. Family is what you make it and the bonds we create are the most important ones.
About the Author:
Katelyn Detweiler was born and raised in a small town in eastern Pennsylvania, living in a centuries-old farmhouse surrounded by fields and woods. She spent the vast majority of childhood with her nose in a book or creating make-believe worlds with friends, daydreaming about how she could turn those interests into an actual paying career. After graduating from Penn State University with a B.A. in English Literature, emphasis in Creative Writing and Women’s Studies, she packed her bags and made the move to New York City, determined to break into the world of publishing. She worked for two years in the marketing department of Macmillan Children’s Group before moving in 2010 to the agency side of the business at Jill Grinberg Literary, where she is currently a literary agent representing books for all ages and across all genres.
Katelyn lives in a cozy Brooklyn apartment with her husband Danny and her son Alfie, surrounded by stacks of books and records and diapers. When she’s not reading or writing or taking care of a tiny human, Katelyn enjoys yoga, fancy beverages, and road trips. She frequently treks back to her hometown in Pennsylvania, a lovely green escape from life in the city, and her favorite place to write.
Author Links: Website | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads | Facebook
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