Out of the Blue

Never in a million years could Megan have predicted the surprise she gets for her 12th birthday. She first senses something’s up when her organized, never-waste-a-minute mother becomes “this soft, slow person” who sings happy songs. Soon Megan learns why: she has a half-sister. It seems that when Megan’s mother was a teenager, she had a baby who she gave up for adoption. But now she and 24-year-old Natalie have reestablished contact, and Natalie is coming to meet the family. Although Megan’s little sister, Betsy, is thrilled at the idea of being a flower girl in her new big sister’s wedding, Megan is not as enthusiastic. She grows increasingly resentful and anxious as her mother becomes totally absorbed in Natalie. Even more troubling is Megan’s nagging worry that she can no longer trust her parents. If they didn’t tell her about Natalie, can she ever believe anything else they say? As in her previous works, author Sarah Ellis keenly observes the nuances of relationships within families and the effects of change on those relationships.