Deviant by Helen Fitzgerald

by:  Helen Fitzgerald
published by:  Soho Teen
publish date:  June 11, 2013

When 16-year-old Abigail's mother dies in Scotland--leaving a faded photo, a weirdly cryptic letter, and a one-way ticket to America--she feels nothing. Why should she? Her mother gave her away when she was a baby, leaving her to grow up on an anti-nuclear commune and then in ugly foster homes. But the letter is a surprise in more ways than one: Her father is living in California. What's more, Abigail discovers she has an eighteen-year-old sister, Becky. And the two are expecting Abigail to move in with them.

Abigail is drifting through the foster system in Scotland when her estranged mother dies.  She has only a passing knowledge of her mother so it surprises her to find out that she has left her a package containing a letter telling her about her father and sister in America, a ticket to get to them and $50,000.  Abigail makes her way to the United States and quickly settles in with her new family.  However, she quickly finds out that everything isn't what it seems and that there might be more between her mother and father than she ever suspected and that her mother's death might be just the first clue in a vast conspiracy.

I was surprised by Deviant.  I didn't expect it to take some of the turns that it did.  I figured it was just going to be a book about an orphan finding her family, but it wasn't really about that at all.  It was more about this conspiracy and Abigail and Becky working together to uncover the truth.  I liked it.  It was an interesting YA read and the characters were believable.  Definitely recommend to the YA readers.