Auto Focus, written by Lauren Gibaldi, reviewed by Stephanie Wilson

Summary: Maude’s photography teacher assigns a photo shoot centered on the theme of family. Maude struggles with how to approach the project. She’s adopted, and her birth mother died in childbirth. She could take the predictable path and do a shoot based on her adopted parents. Maude decides to focus her project on her birth mother instead. Maude’s birth mother was a freshman at Florida State University when she learned she was pregnant. She hatches a plan to take a road trip to Florida State University in Tallahassee to visit her friend Treena. Maude’s adoptive parents and Treena worry about Maude’s choice. She’s tried to uncover information about her birth mother before and it ended in heartbreak. Maude heads to Tallahassee and soon learns that Treena is too preoccupied with her college life to be much help. The Treena Maude knew in high school was quiet, shy and focused on her studies. Now Treena has a boyfriend and her priorities are completely different. Treena just wants to have a good time and party. She drags Maude along for the ride even though neither girl is old enough to drink legally. Maude finds herself spending more time with Bennett, a boy who lives on Treena's floor than with Treena. Bennett offers to help Maude chase down clues about her birth mother. Maude is torn between wanting to be with Treena and continuing her quest to answer her questions about her mom. Bennett helps Maude sort out her conflicted feelings about her birth mother and her changing relationship with Treena. 

Straight Talk for Librarians: Auto Focus is a sweet coming of age story that deals with the issues of adoption and being adopted. Maude is typical teen on the cusp of adulthood struggling to find her place in the world. The characters are somewhat diverse: Maude is white, Treena is Indian-American and Bennett is half Columbian. The issues the characters wrestle with are common to young adulthood. The novel is best suited for older middle school students and high school students. There are several instances of underage drinking, making out and one instance of sexual harassment. Unfortunately, there are times when the novel makes dated references. Maude’s mom watches The Real World, a reality show that was waning in popularity when the novel was published and has subsequently been cancelled. There are also multiple references to a character potentially wanting to get into another character’s pants which is a slang reference for having sex. This phrase is no longer in common usage among young adults.