My So-Called Family Book

Leah Hoffman-Ross just moved to New York and she wants her new friends to think she's a typical thirteen-year-old. But Leah has a secret: She doesn't have a father; she has a donor. Before Leah was born, her mother went to Lyon's Reproductive Services and picked Donor 730. Now Leah has a stepfather and a little brother, and her mom thinks that they should be all the family Leah needs.

Despite her attempts to fit in and be normal, Leah can't help but feel like something is missing. When she finds the link to the Lyon's Sibling Registry, Leah has to see if she has any half siblings. And when she discovers that one of the other kids from Donor 730 is a girl her age, Leah will do anything to meet her — even if she has to hide it from everybody else.

Debut author Courtney Sheinmel puts a contemporary spin on a timeless question in this heartfelt novel about what makes a family.

Publishers Weekly

When Leah Hoffman-Ross's family moves shortly before the start of eighth grade, she seizes the opportunity to pass for "normal"-in other words, to conceal that in place of a dad she has Donor 730 from a Maryland sperm bank. Everything goes swimmingly-Leah makes new friends easily and gets along with her mom, stepfather and brainy five-year-old half-brother-until she slips up, in a typical 13-year-old's dilemma, and doesn't handle a curfew correctly. Grounded, furious at her parents, she looks up the sperm bank on the Internet and discovers a link for a sibling registry. First-time novelist Sheinmel, a PW reviewer, motivates Leah insightfully and sympathetically-readers will understand her conflicts, both petty and major, as she gets to know another daughter of Donor 730 and keeps it a secret from her disapproving mother ("She's not your sister," her mother insists when she finds out). As narrator, Leah's voice is right on key, whether describing the give-and-take of family life or revelations about what constitutes family. Smart, original and full of vitality. Ages 9-12. (Oct.)

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