This Golden State

by: Marit Weisenberg

Recommended Age: YA (12+ years and above)

Lexile: unknown

Content Warning(s): death/grief, mild language

Book Summary

"The Winslow family lives by five principles:

1. No one can know your real name.

2. Don’t stay in one place too long.

3. If you sense anything is wrong, go immediately to the meeting spot.

4. Keeping our family together is everything.

5. We wish we could tell you who we are, but we can’t. Please—do not ask.

Poppy doesn’t know why her family has been running her whole life, but she does know that there are dire consequences if they’re ever caught. Still, her curiosity grows each year, as does her desire for real friends and the chance to build on something, instead of leaving behind school projects, teams, and crushes at a moment’s notice.

When a move to California exposes a crack in her parents’ airtight planning, Poppy realizes how fragile her world is. Determined to find out the truth, she mails in a home DNA test. Just as she starts to settle into her new life and even begins opening up to a boy in her math class, the forgotten test results bring her crashing back to reality.

Unraveling the shocking truth of her parents’ real identities, Poppy realizes that the DNA test has undone decades of careful work to keep her family anonymous—and the past is dangerously close to catching up to them. Determined to protect her family but desperate for more, Poppy must ask: How much of herself does she owe her family? And is it a betrayal to find her own place in the world?"

My Thoughts

While browsing the young adult section in Kinokuniya, the simple, nondescript cover jumped out at me—yes, this cover! On Goodreads, it's fairly common to see reviews begin with "this beautiful cover caught my eye," but, on the other end of the spectrum, it's also fairly rare where someone admits that the simpler cover pushed them to read the blurb. I see this design choice as one that reflects the content inside—what the book is about is honestly a mystery until the last 50 pages or so. And while that may be frustrating to some readers, perhaps that's what makes it so unique and an unforgettable read.

As the blurb is intentionally vague, my review won't reveal any major plot points, so all I can say is that if you're up for the ride of not knowing where this book goes until the very last bit, then by all means, choose this adventure, much like the Winslow family.