Simone’s starting her junior year in high school. Her mom’s a lawyer for the ACLU, her dad’s a political cartoonist, so she’s grown up standing outside the organic food coop asking people to sign petitions for worthy causes. She’s got a terrific younger brother and amazing friends. And she’s got a secret crush on a really smart and funny guy–who spends all of his time with another girl.

Then her birth mother contacts her. Simone’s always known she was adopted, but she never wanted to know anything about it. She’s happy with her family just as it is, thank you.

She learns who her birth mother was–a 16-year-old girl named Rivka. Who is Rivka? Why has she contacted Simone? Why now? The answers lead Simone to deeper feelings of anguish and love than she has ever known, and to question everything she once took for granted about faith, life, the afterlife, and what it means to be a daughter.
© Courtesy of Chelsea Hadley
Dana Reinhardt is the award-winning author of the young adult novels Harmless, How to Build a House, and The Things a Brother Knows, among others. Her books have been named to many best of the year lists, and reviewers have praised her work as "exceptional" and "funny and unforgettable." She lives in San Francisco with her husband and their two daughters. To learn more, visit danareinhardt.net. View titles by Dana Reinhardt

About

Simone’s starting her junior year in high school. Her mom’s a lawyer for the ACLU, her dad’s a political cartoonist, so she’s grown up standing outside the organic food coop asking people to sign petitions for worthy causes. She’s got a terrific younger brother and amazing friends. And she’s got a secret crush on a really smart and funny guy–who spends all of his time with another girl.

Then her birth mother contacts her. Simone’s always known she was adopted, but she never wanted to know anything about it. She’s happy with her family just as it is, thank you.

She learns who her birth mother was–a 16-year-old girl named Rivka. Who is Rivka? Why has she contacted Simone? Why now? The answers lead Simone to deeper feelings of anguish and love than she has ever known, and to question everything she once took for granted about faith, life, the afterlife, and what it means to be a daughter.

Author

© Courtesy of Chelsea Hadley
Dana Reinhardt is the award-winning author of the young adult novels Harmless, How to Build a House, and The Things a Brother Knows, among others. Her books have been named to many best of the year lists, and reviewers have praised her work as "exceptional" and "funny and unforgettable." She lives in San Francisco with her husband and their two daughters. To learn more, visit danareinhardt.net. View titles by Dana Reinhardt

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