One Tiny Lie

This follow-up to Tucker’s Ten Tiny Breaths focuses on Kacey Cleary’s younger sister, Livie, who goes off to Princeton while still grappling with the drunk driving accident that killed their parents and upended the Cleary girls’ lives. Livie is the supposed “perfect” one, and Kacey is determined, with the help of weekly phone calls to Livie from psychiatrist Dr. Stayner, to break Livie out of her conservative, cautious bubble and allow her to live life to the fullest. To add spice to this superficial coming-of-age story, Livie has to choose between proper Connor, whom she meets on campus, and his roommate, Ashton, whom she meets at a drunken bash before classes start. Unsurprisingly, it’s “naughty” Ashton who gets her heart racing, and the constant comparing of the two—she dates Connor but has passionate encounters with Ashton—gets tiresome. Also predictable: there’s more to Ashton then meets the eye; his troubled past adds melodrama to Livie’s already tragic personal situation. Meanwhile, Livie intends to follow her dream of becoming a pediatrician, volunteering at a children’s hospital, but finally learning that she lacks the emotional fortitude for such a demanding profession. Unfortunately, too many elements don’t work here—including an off-the-wall psychiatrist who does most of his therapy over the phone and gives bizarre advice (he recommends bungee jumping and drinking tequila) and a too-neat ending where everyone ends up living together happily ever after in Miami. Agent: Stacey Donaghy, Corvisiero Literary Agency. (Jan.)