Book Descriptions
for The Secret Life of Prince Charming by Deb Caletti
From Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC)
When teenage Quinn discovers that her unreliable father has stolen something from each of the (many) women with whom he’s had a failed relationship, she decides to return the items her dad took from each woman. That means doing some research, telling some lies, and taking some emotional risks. Contacting an older half-sister she barely remembers, Quinn convinces her to be part of the crazy and touching plan, and Quinn’s younger sister insists on coming along on what turns out to be a memorable, moving, and often hilarious road trip. Quinn’s intent is to return the objects her dad took and get some answers about the person he was and is along the way. What she discovers is a larger truth about love in many forms, from the ever-strengthening bond she’s developing with her sisters, to her mother’s increasingly frantic worry, to the sweetness she discovers with a boy named Jake. Reflective vignettes in the voices of a number of different women—Quinn’s grandmother, her mother, other women in her dad’s life—offer adult perspectives on love and relationships that are often jaded yet still full of truth. But in the end, love with all its imperfections is the lasting lesson. (Age 13 and older)
CCBC Choices 2010. © Cooperative Children's Book Center, Univ. of Wisconsin - Madison, 2010. Used with permission.
From the Publisher
Quinn teams up with the half-sister she’s never met to right their father’s wrongs in this thoughtful, funny, and layered novel by National Book Award finalist and Printz Honor medal winner Deb Caletti.
Maybe it was wrong, or maybe impossible, but I wanted the truth to be one thing. One solid thing.
Quinn is surrounded by women who have had their hearts broken. Between her mother, her aunt, and her grandmother, Quinn hears nothing but cautionary tales. And when she is abruptly and unceremoniously dumped, Quinn starts to think maybe there really are no good men.
It doesn’t help that she’s gingerly handling a renewed relationship with her formerly absent father. He’s a little bit of a lot of things: charming, selfish, eccentric, lazy… But he’s her dad, and Quinn’s just happy to have him around again. Until she realizes how horribly he’s treated the many women in his life, how he’s stolen more than just their hearts. Determined to, for once, take action in her life, Quinn joins forces with the half-sister she’s never met and the little sister she’ll do anything to protect. Together, they set out to right her father’s wrongs…and in doing so, begin to uncover what they’re really looking for: the truth.
Once again, Deb Caletti has created a cast of lovably flawed characters who bond over the shared experiences of fear, love, pain, and joy—in other words, real life.
Maybe it was wrong, or maybe impossible, but I wanted the truth to be one thing. One solid thing.
Quinn is surrounded by women who have had their hearts broken. Between her mother, her aunt, and her grandmother, Quinn hears nothing but cautionary tales. And when she is abruptly and unceremoniously dumped, Quinn starts to think maybe there really are no good men.
It doesn’t help that she’s gingerly handling a renewed relationship with her formerly absent father. He’s a little bit of a lot of things: charming, selfish, eccentric, lazy… But he’s her dad, and Quinn’s just happy to have him around again. Until she realizes how horribly he’s treated the many women in his life, how he’s stolen more than just their hearts. Determined to, for once, take action in her life, Quinn joins forces with the half-sister she’s never met and the little sister she’ll do anything to protect. Together, they set out to right her father’s wrongs…and in doing so, begin to uncover what they’re really looking for: the truth.
Once again, Deb Caletti has created a cast of lovably flawed characters who bond over the shared experiences of fear, love, pain, and joy—in other words, real life.
Publisher description retrieved from Google Books.