Teresa Toten has been nominated twice for a Governor General’s Award for Children’s Literature. She has published a number of books for young adults, including Onlyhouse, The Game, Me and the Blondes, and her most recent book, Better than Blonde. A sequel to Me and the Blondes, Better than Blonde draws the reader into the life of fifteen-year-old Sophie as she deals with her first romantic crisis, her father’s release from prison and the disintegration of her parents’ marriage. Toten’s books often deal with the difficulties of growing up as an immigrant in urban Canada. She arrived in Canada from Croatia when she was just thirteen days old and spent much of her childhood in Toronto.

Things are looking up for Sophie! She has a great group of friends dubbed “the Blondes”, she has the eye of the gorgeous Luke Pearson, and her father, falsely imprisoned for almost a decade, is coming home. So many things are going right, but below the surface Sophie must navigate the tumultuous waters of surviving adolescence, friends and family. Little does she know that things are not so perfect for the Blondes either. Discover how these four girls come to terms with their secrets, their families and themselves.