review: relative strangers by paula garner

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Relative Strangers ripped my heart out. It all starts with Jules needing a picture to use for the yearbook's senior baby photo spread. Her mom keeps stalling, so Jules goes digging on her own and discovers she spent those early years in foster care due to her mom's alcoholism. It rocks her world. With a little online sleuthing, Jules finds her former foster brother who is just a few years older and whose family has missed Jules terribly. Paula Garner's wonderfully crafted plot goes from uplifting to gut-wrenching as Jules immerses herself into life with her former foster family and develops a crush on the young man who thinks of her as a sister. The emotional twists of Relative Strangers are expertly executed and feel incredibly real.
5/5
Review copy provided by the publisher, Candlewick.