True Things (Adults Don't Want Kids to Know) (Amelia Rules) [Paperback]

Jimmy Gownley (Author, Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 19, 2010 | Age Level: 7 and up | Series: Amelia Rules (Book 6)

In the sixth volume of Amelia Rules!, Amelia helps Aunt Tanner revive her music career—and pays the price for doing so, Rhonda comes to terms with her newfound popularity, and Reggie discovers that you can’t stay a kid forever. And if that weren’t enough, Amelia finds out how a crush can truly be crushing. While Amelia learns about love the hard way, she discovers a number of true things (adults don’t want kids to know)—but, as always, with a generous dose of Gownley humor!

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 4–6—Amelia McBride has to face some sad goodbyes, some difficult decisions, and her 11th birthday. Luckily she has an amazing cast of friends and family by her side through all the hilarious and heartwarming trials of life. One of the situations in this volume is the budding romance between her beloved teacher and her Aunt Tanner, causing her aunt to be a bit absent just when Amelia needs her help in dealing with her own painful and sometime embarrassing first real crush. Amelia really is growing up, so while she maintains a charming childlike personality, she is also becoming more self-aware and more responsible. Even her playtime is changing, with fewer caped crusades and clubhouses, and more Truth or Dare and trips to the mall. Gownley gets this transition just right. The art maintains the simple bright charm of the previous volumes of the graphic-novel series, and the cartoon-style drawings with strong child appeal are a perfect match for the humor and emotion of the story lines. With some parts laugh-out-loud funny and some heart-wrenching, this book has something for everyone.—Sharon Senser McKellar, Oakland Public Library, CA
(c) Copyright 2011.  Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

Amelia McBride celebrates her eleventh birthday with a party that brings surprises, especially Aunt Tanner’s brand-new song. In this sixth Amelia Rules! book, Amelia, her friends, and her family all face new challenges and changes. Much of it centers on Tanner, as she reconnects with her music and starts dating Amelia’s teacher, while Amelia suffers a humiliating crush and deals with fighting among her friends and between her mother and Tanner. Gownley again touches on things young readers deal with in their own lives with just enough humor to make it not hurt so much. Grades 3-5. --Kat Kan

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 7 and up
  
• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers (October 19, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 141698609X
• ISBN-13: 978-1416986096
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #555,668 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Growing up is hard, but fun to watch, October 28, 2010

By 

David Van Domelen (Kearney, NE USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: True Things (Adults Don't Want Kids to Know) (Amelia Rules) (Paperback)

Volume 5 started the transition from kid to young adult, and this one pretty much rams it through. Sometimes the symbolism gets so heavy that Gownley hangs a lampshade on it, but it works. Essentially a five issue miniseries all at once, a continuing story but with clear breaks. Some of the supporting cast drift into the background while others come to the fore, as happens in life. And along the way there's loads of laughs and plenty of sentimentality-that-works. Strongly recommended.

5.0 out of 5 stars Amelia is so likable that she carries the series with her charms and wit, December 22, 2010

By 

GraphicNovelReporter.com (New York, NY) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: True Things (Adults Don't Want Kids to Know) (Amelia Rules) (Paperback)

With True Things (Adults Don't Want Kids to Know), creator Jimmy Gownley raises the quality of his now-five-book series to new heights. This long story about Amelia's continuing progress as she learns about promises (both kept and broken) and struggles to achieve her goals shows the title heroine getting more than a few lessons from the school of hard knocks. While still a wonderful children's story, the book is Gownley's most emotionally mature work yet.

The book begins with a fun birthday party for Amelia (the surprise guest is Amelia's Aunt Tanner, a former rock star who, throughout the book, struggles with her creativity while encouraging Amelia to explore her own). Quickly, though, problems begin to sprout in the form of feuding friends and bad grades and, most perplexing of all, Amelia's new crush, who seems sweet at first and then nothing short of awful as things develop.

All of it works, even if it does get a little heavy-handed at times. Amelia is so likable that she carries the series with her charms and wit, but even when she's facing real-life challenges, she maintains a humor and likeability that shine through.

-- John Hogan