Elly Swartz lives in Massachusetts and is happily married with two grown sons, a beagle named Lucy, and a pup named Baxter Bean. Hidden Truths, called a "realistic fiction at its best" in a starred review by SLJ, was her latest novel. She is also the author of Dear Student, Finding Perfect, Smart Cookie, and Give and Take, novels for middle-grade readers. Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. 1
Pinkie Swear
The yellow school bus rattles past the stretch of cornfields, leaving behind the mandatory get-to-know-you camping trip.
June knocks my hiking boot with her lake-soaked sneaker. “You promise, right?”
I nod. It’s been twenty-four hours since the thing happened.
“You have to say it out loud.” She slips her long blond braid through the back of her I Love Texas cap.
“Fine.” I sigh. “I promise I won’t tell anyone.”
She holds out her pinkie with the green nail polish.
I link mine with hers.
“Pinkie swear,” she says.
“Pinkie swear,” I say.
Ju
