Year of Mistaken Discoveries by Eileen Cook

Summary:
Friendship is a bond stronger than secrets in this novel from the author of The Almost Truth and Unraveling Isobel.

As first graders, Avery and Nora bonded over a special trait they shared; they were both adopted.

Years later, Avery is smart, popular, and on the cheerleading squad, while Nora spends her time on the fringes of school society, wearing black, reading esoteric poetry, and listening to obscure music. They never interact...until the night Nora approaches Avery at a party, saying it's urgent. She tells Avery that she thought she found her birth mom but it turned out to be a cruel lie. Avery feels for Nora, but returns to her friends at the party.

Then Avery learns that Nora overdosed on pills. Left to cope with Nora's loss and questioning her own actions, Avery decides to honor her friend by launching a search for her own birth mother. Aided by Brody, a friend of Nora's who is also looking for a way to respect Nora's legacy, Avery embarks on an emotional quest. But what she's really seeking might go far deeper than just genetics. (from GoodReads)

Review:
I loved the premise of this book and when it was on Pulse It, I jumped at the chance to read it. I'm so glad I did because Year of Mistaken Discoveries was a great read.

I've never read anything by Eileen Cook before but she's a wonderful writer. I'm definitely going to check out her other books. She has this way of writing with such a genuine voice. There are obviously sad parts in this book and they were handled so well; she's able to incorporate all these different emotions into Avery and it really works.

I loved the idea of looking for birth parents because I think that's something a lot of people who were adopted struggle with. Everyone wants to know where they came from and why they were given up for adoption so Avery's quest makes perfect sense. What happened to Nora was awful but I almost wish more time was spent on that, on how she was being conned. That was such an interesting subplot. But the story is ultimately about Avery and how she reacts to these events.

I really loved the character of Brody. He and Avery clicked right away and it was so funny watching them joke around and tease each other. It was a great relationship and that didn't develop too quickly. My only qualm with Year of Mistaken Discoveries that Avery is quite the detective and I don't think the process would have been quite that easy. But that's a really small negative and I definitely think the majority of people will like this book.

Rating: 8 out of 10.
FTC: read on Pulse It
Release Date: February 25, 2014

2014/Simon Pulse/272 pages.