THE RING OF TRUTH

Sloan Fredericks, 16, has lived with her wealthy grandmother ever since her mother, father, and brother Tyler were killed in a car accident that she miraculously survived. Her life at home and private school is quiet—until Lieutenant Governor Mark Heiler kisses her at a large party. When her best friend Justine claims to have had a past dalliance with Mark, Sloan finds herself embroiled in a sex scandal. In the name of party politics, Sloan's grandmother asks her to recant her story, but in the end Sloan—struggling to come to terms with recently revealed secrets (Tyler's alive but hopelessly brain-damaged; her inheritance will be minuscule)—is unwilling. Initially, readers will be excited by the potency of the situation; as events begin to spiral out of control, Avi's Nothing But the Truth (1991) springs to mind. But the comparison is premature; rather than delivering insights into politics or December-May harassment, Pfeffer hangs her story on arbitrary elements that make this ``ring of truth'' a fairly hollow exercise. (Fiction. 11+)