I'm a bit confused by the time frame of this book. Cellular phones, computers and the internet are mentioned in passing -- yet Loren/Lorne's father says she was conceived in the sixties, which would mean the book was set sometime in the seventies, or early eighties at the latest. Frankly, the feel of the book, and the way people behaved, gave it a definite less-than-21st-century feel.

It was a good premise but, I think, needed some serious work. Loren/Lorne was a little bit too Anne of Green Gables-ish for my taste: the plucky, sweet-hearted orphan, bringing out the best in everyone she meets. I think covering her all of her high school years was going a bit far and have a hard time believing she could have kept up the ruse for as long as she did, especially given the number of people who found out, one way or another -- some of them had very good reasons to reveal this information and I'm not satisfied with the author's explanations as to why they didn't. And if Loren/Lorne could have kept her secret successfully all that time, I don't think everyone would really be so totally nonchalant about it when they found out. Loren/Lorne's guy pals at school, when they found out she was a girl, mostly just shrugged it off and weren't in the least bit angry that she had been lying to them for years. None of the girls seemed to have any kind of "ick" reaction upon learning that the boy they'd been flirting with, and asking out, and occasionally outright hitting on for the past four years was in fact another girl.

I don't mean to sound overly harsh. Certainly there are several appealing aspects to this book, and the author does a fairish job of maintaining the suspense -- will she get found out, will that guy from the foster care system find her, etc. I just think it could have been better done is all. ( )