Reviewed by Lynn Crow for TeensReadToo.com

Things haven't been going so well for 15-year-old Garth since his father died. He and his mom have had to move into a dingy apartment. She works two jobs and is always tired, while he has to pretend to enjoy working for the irritable owner of the local department store. Worst of all, he finally found the courage to come out to her - only to have her put that discussion "on hold" for an indefinite period, after extracting a promise that he tell no one else.

Garth feels stifled, but he has no idea what to do about it.

Then change comes without warning in the form of Garth's Uncle Mike, who shows up one evening in need of a place to crash for a few weeks. Despite Garth's mom's concerns, Garth finds himself immediately warming to Mike. Mike has the sort of confidence Garth wishes he had, and when he tells Mike about his sexuality, Mike is not only accepting, but also encouraging.

Yet even as Mike helps Garth feel more comfortable with himself, he starts to involve Garth in a series of increasingly elaborate money-making schemes. As desperately as his family could use the cash, Garth can't help feeling the pressure of all the secrets he's suddenly keeping.

But how can trusting the person who's given him the support he so needs be wrong?

IN MIKE WE TRUST is full of those sorts of tricky moral dilemmas, and watching Garth navigate them is just part of the novel's appeal. Ryan offers no easy answers, and Garth's responses feel completely authentic. The stifling Garth feels is vividly drawn, as is his developing relationship with another gay teen. The conclusion wraps up several loose ends in a believable but optimistic way, and leaves others open to the reader's imagination.

Teens who've struggled with parents who can't quite accept them for who they are - whether their sexuality or any other aspect of their identity - will find much to relate to, not to mention hope. Recommended to all fans of contemporary YA. ( )

Written for ALAN's Picks, April 2009 (at http://www.alan-ya.org/2009/04/alans-picks-april-2009/)

"The surprise arrival of the prodigal Uncle Mike at Garth Rudd’s doorstep is indeed a mixed blessing for the fifteen year old. Having lost his father in a tragic boating accident, under orders from his mother not to disclose his sexual orientation to anyone outside the family, and stuck in a summer job he despises in order to make ends meet, Garth’s life is clouded by secrets and lies. At first, Mike seems to offer Garth a refreshing outlet to be true to himself, embracing his nephew’s identity and encouraging him to meet other gay teens. However, Garth begins to suspect that Mike’s sudden interest in his deceased brother’s family may have a darker purpose, and he finds himself participating in an uncomfortable new web of deceptions that threatens to undo his new found freedom.

Like the raucous relationship between Prince Hal and Falstaff in Shakespeare’s Henry IV, the complicated bond that develops between Garth and Mike gives In Mike We Trust a rich and often witty core. Readers looking for a tender coming out and coming-of-age story should find much to enjoy as they witness Garth learn what it means to be honest—with oneself as much as with friends, family and kind-hearted strangers."