Better Than Blonde

The enthralling sequel to Me and the Blondes, shortlisted for the Governor General’s Award

Life is almost ... well ... potentially perfect for Sophie Kandinsky. As it turns out, the Blondes were as dazzled by her as she was by them, and Sophie enters grade ten at Northern Heights smack in the centre of the power grid. There will be no more cascading lies and secrets from her, but the Blondes—now that’s another story. And her eccentric Aunties are still peppering Sophie with their eccentric advice on life, love, and how to land the elusive Luke Pearson. But in the end, the best and biggest news is also the worst. After seven years, Sophie’s beloved Papa is finally out of prison. Papa is home. Trouble is ... he’s supposed to be dead. No more lies? No more secrets?

"[Teresa Toten] writes with insight and compassion about the complex moral universe of adolescence."
— Quill & Quire

"Toten captures perfectly the easy camaraderie of girls who trust each other enough to play Truth or Dare and challenge each other to develop into good people."
—CM Magazine

TERESA TOTEN is an award-winning writer who was born in Zagreb, Croatia, but left for Canada on that same day. Although she’s lived in Toronto for most of her life, Teresa has also lived in Delhi (Ontario), Montreal, Ottawa, and New York. She developed her broad taste in reading as a result of her non-English-speaking mother’s habit of filling shopping bags full of books from wildly different sections of the local library. Teresa has twice been shortlisted for the Governor General’s Literary Award, for The Game in 2001 and for Me and the Blondes in 2006.