Customer Reviews

Truth with a Capital T

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4 star:		(2)
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Maebelle T Earl is a southern ray of sunshine! This lovable character is feisty, outgoing and so fun to get to know. The story is centered on her spending the summer, like she always does, with her heartwarming, eccentric grandparents, and her adopted cousin Isaac. I adored her grandparents and fell in love with Isaac. This poor kid broke my heart. He's a character I really came to admire, and though he's only a secondary character, he really stole the show for me.

This story has a rich setting and equally rich back story. Sit in Georgia, Bethany includes the history of slave ownership, the underground railroad, the cost of freedom and so much more into her story. She takes actual facts and events and elegantly makes them apart of Maebelle's family history, and I love how she unravels it. Maebelle is a very bright young girl, but her curiosity gets the better of her when she discovers there's a locked wing in the family mansion her grandparents have recently inherited. She'll do whatever it takes to find out what's in there, and what she finds is a story about love, faith and a quest for freedom.

Mixed with fabulous facts and fun trivia Truth with a capital T is a really fun, engaging read. Not only are the characters well written, and relatable, but each chapter includes a "Little Known Fact" like this one,

"The Truth with a capital T can't always be proved. But for it to be real, it's only got to be believed." - pg 248

Bethany has done such a beautiful job at writing a story that centers around love, friendship, and the true meaning of family. The way she handles the topics of racism and prejudice is truthful and well written so that kids who are reading this story will understand it. It's a story about innocence, finding truth and loving blindly, as in being color blind and seeing people for they really are. It's also a story a historical story with a secret that ties together a family and town.

I highly recommend picking this book up. There are so many wonderful layers to this story that parents and teachers can discuss with their children and students. It's a heartwarming story. It's a fun read that follows the adventures of two kids who are spending the summer together with their grandparents and in the process learn something more about themselves and their family's history. I have to mention the cover, I love it! I'm so glad the artist included both Maebelle and her cousin Isaac. The cover is a perfect match for the story.

If I had a daughter, I'd want her to read this. I love strong young female characters. Great story.

"Truth" has no false notes! This is a charming yet complex novel about the subtleties of family dynamics and history and how they shape us. The main character, Maebelle, with her funny, engaging voice and original point-of-view, makes this a rootin-tootin' good read that kids will immediately relate to. As Maebelle gets to know her African-American cousin and the pair ponder the secrets of a locked wing in their grandparents' antebellum home, Hegedus handles questions and feelings around race exceptionally well. A wise, witty and insightful novel that speaks from the heart.

A great read for kids in third - sixth grades.

I really enjoyed this sweet, fun, and funny novel about a girl named Maebelle working to uncover a family mystery, make friends in her grandparent's new town, and find a way to feel special in a family chock-full of talent. The relationships between Maebelle, Isaac, and their grandparents were touching and well-developed, and the story was loaded with those little pieces of small-town Southern life that made it perfectly real.

The author throws her characters into thorny situations, tackling topics like mixed-race families and the different responses those kids face in the North and South, and pulls it all off. With its interesting subplots about the Underground Railroad and slave quilts, this book would be good for kids to read for class - I bought a copy for my kid's Language Arts teacher - but I think they'd enjoy reading it anytime. I did!

Pow. Here's a book with heart, voice, nuanced characters, big questions that resonate, and a whole lot of truth. In other words, all of the ingredients that matter.

Maebelle's infectious voice had me hooked from the start (and, oddly, I found myself thinking in her voice for days afterward). The secondary characters, all richly drawn and quirky in their own ways, kept me deep in the story, believing in this place and caring about the outcomes for everyone. Who wouldn't love Gramps?

Hegedus avoids cliche and lets her characters speak truthfully about issues of race and the legacy of slavery in a community. Through it all, she stays true to the point of view of her smart and feisty eleven-year-old protagonist (think: Harriet the Spy in contemporary Georgia).

This story would provide an excellent contemporary hook into a unit of study in the Underground Railroad--and is simply a fun read inside or outside the classroom.

Mabelle is looking forward to spending the summer with her grandparents in Tweedle, GA. Mabelle's parents are popular therapist, they are on summer book tour. Mabelle is looking forward to some alone time with her grandparents but is very surprised that her new cousin Issac is spending the summer as well. Aunt Alice, adopted Issac after his mother died. The women were neighbors and friends.

Before summer started Mabelle learned that she would be in regular classes next year, not gifted and talented. Mabelle plans on studying the book of little known facts over the summer, hoping to retake the G&T test and pass. Each chapter begins with a little known fact Mabelle has learned.

Mabelle's grandparents are a retired musical group. The house was recently inherited from Edith, a long lost aunt on the grandfather's side of the family. There was some kind of family falling out, no ones why. The grandparents own the large antebellum house with one condition, the west wing must stay locked. Mabelle really wants to know what behind the lock door.

I really enjoyed Truth with a Capital T. I liked Mabelle from the start. I think she could easily carry the story on her own but the author doesn't put it all on Mabelle's shoulders. Hegedus writes a great story, using all the characters she created.

Mabelle is a little jealous of Issac. She is no longer the only grandchild plus Issac has a talent (trumpet). I really liked that Issac being Black, isn't an issue but at the same time is not ignored. To prove she's still talented Mabelle is determined to win a blue ribbon at the Anniversary Spectacular. Mabelle finally decides clogging is her best chance at winning. She enters with a group. Issac, Grace, a girl she meet on the bus, Jimmy and Taylor, the brothers from next door.

The friendship between the five was one of my favorite parts of the story. Even more so after Mabelle got into the locked wing and discovers her families secret. There have always been rumors about there being a stop on the Underground Railround in Tweedle. Good or bad Mabelle wants to know what roll her ancestors played. The town librarian, Mr Phelps makes the five friends research assistants. They spend many hours (when not clogging) looking into what they found in the locked wing.

It was very nice to see a librarian play such an active part in the story and kids interested in history. The author does a very good job of explaining the importance of quilts and their symbols to slaves who were escaping to the North. Truth with a Capital T, is a wonderful contemporary novel that embraces history at the same time.