Secrets of Truth & Beauty

Secrets of Truth & Beauty by Megan Frazer is a story of self-image and prejudice.

Dara Cohen's life is about to change. An assignment as school to create a multi-media autobiography is misunderstood. Dara was Little Miss Maine when she was a kid. She took the footage of the pageant and created a video that compares societies image of what is acceptable or beautiful with pictures of herself. She thought she was creating a clever look at weight prejudice.

Dara's teacher, her school counselor, and her parents did not get the same message from the video. Her parents take her out of school and she has to see a counselor before she can return in the Fall.

Dara takes this opportunity to look for the sister she has never met. When she finds her, Dara drives to Hollis, Massachusetts and meets her sister Rachel. Rachel lives on the Jezebel Goat Farm. It has been a safe haven for young women whose families kicked them out for being lesbians since the 1940s.

Dara's summer of self-discovery and getting to know her sister is a coming of age story of one girl who grows to love herself. Frazer has written a thoughtful book.

Frazer, Megan. (2009). Secrets of Truth & Beauty. New York: Hyperion.