Customer Reviews

The Truth-Teller's Tale

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4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
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"The Truthteller's Tale" and its prequel, "The Safekeeper's Secret" are both wonderful books and, although they are targeted to a young adult audience, I hope that doesn't stop adults (I'm almost 50) from picking up these gems. I've read some of Shinn's other books and, while they are very good, I don't think they have the magic of her young adult fantasy. She creates a world that is absolutely real and the pictures she draws with her words can break your heart (her writing reminds me of Alice Hoffman at times). I find it difficult to read a book where the characters are not sympathetic, no matter how well written. That is definitely not a problem with "Truthteller's Tale." Shinn has populated her little world with the most charming people imaginable. Adele and Eleda are twin sisters, one a Truth-Teller and the other a Safekeeper. They live in the small town of Merendon, and this book describes their friendship with a local merchant's daughter, Roelynn, her brother Micah, and their experiences with various characters, savory and otherwise, who pass through their small town. There are enough plots twists and little mysteries and romances to keep your interest throughout the book. Sharon Shinn must remember her own adolescent years very well, because the emotions and words of her characters ring true. They're enormously likable and very real.

For many years, I never even looked at young adult or children's books because I thought I had "outgrown" them. Then one day I heard an interview with Lois Lowry, which prompted me to pick up "The Giver." From there, I went on to J. K. Rowling, Jonathon Stroud and Libba Bray and returned to some of my favorite authors from childhood (Kate Seredy, Jack O'Brien, Chad Oliver, Madeleine L'Engle). I was reminded of how magical these books are, and how a good book never has a limited audience. "The Truthteller's Tale" is such a book. It deserves a place on the bookshelf with your other treasured books, to be savored and read again and again.

This lovely tale works both on the surface and at a deeper level. Sharon Shinn deals with the sexuality and yearnings and dreams of young people in such a subtle, yet insightful way, that I found myself translating Truth-Teller and Safekeeper into metaphor, searching for the hidden import--and not being disappointed. This is a fantasy world, but it works as a model for the real world, for the conflicted personality of the adolescent, with a happy resolution that doesn't subtract the weight of the message. I loved it. I hope every young girl of my acquaintance reads it!

This book is good for kids that like a story that follows the same plot line as the traditional fairy tale with a few twists. Happy endings all around, and mixed up identities told in a way that isn't too funny that it destroys the tale, but makes it interesting. This is different than the first book (the Safe-Keeper's Secret), but has more characters and depth to the story, making it a much better book than the first.

Eleda and Adele are twins that contradict their appearences in an interesting way. Eleda is a truth-teller, someone who can only speak the truth and can hear when someone else is not. Adele is a safe-keeper, and will never tell a secret confided to her. The twins lives are written in two parts of the novel, the girls at ages 12 to 16, and the girls at the age of 17. In the 1st part Eleda and Adele go through memories of visits to the queen, summer romances and heartbreaks, their friend Roelynn, and sisterhood fights and bonding. Then at age 17, two interesting strangers come to stay at their father's Inn, starting a sequence of events that change the girls lives completely, and give them quite a number of life lessons in the process!
I liked this book, but it was not my ultimate favorites. I loved the set-up of the story, but the actual story didn't really follow through. I loved the creativity of having two opposite twins, with palindrome names and mirrored appearences. The writing style was fair, it flowed nicely but didn't exactly grab my attention. I wished the author would have involved the girls' gifts more often, that was my favorite part of the book.

Elada and Adele are twins and mirror images of each other in both personality and appearance. Elada is a truth-teller, unable to speak an untruth and compelled to always tell the truth. Adele, on the other hand, is a secret-keeper, as closed-lipped and good-naturedly duplicitous as her sister is outspoken. As the twins grow up and into their roles, their abilities help them provide the functions of confidant and advice-giver for the entire town. Occasionally the townsfolk mix up the twins, to sometimes humorous, embarrassing, or disastrous results, accidentally telling secrets to Elada and expecting honest advice from Adele. The secrets they learn unravel over a backdrop of the sisters discovering love, loss, betrayal, and friendship as they first blossom into adolescence and then adulthood.

I adored this book. The plot may not sound like anything exceptional, but this is an incorrect assumption as the characters and world Shinn creates are truly delightful to read about. Shinn's exceptional writing brings this book a cut above standard YA fare, creating numerous passages that are simply beautiful. The story unfolds at a languid pace, but I found myself completely enthralled and immersed after the first page. Though the book is relatively short, I feel like I've know the characters my whole life. Their joys and sorrows were powerful and evocative.

The world Shinn created is as full and real as her characters. The idea of truth-tellers, secret-keepers, and dream-makers blended seamlessly into the more standard fare medieval-like world. Never did these abilities feel gimmicky or out of place. It was amusing to read about how these abilities brought comfort, strife, and humor into the lives of the various characters. Highly recommended to both YA and adult readers.

The Truth-Taller's Tale (2005) is the second Fantasy novel in this milieu, following The Safe-Keeper's Secret. Adele and Eleda are mirror twins, born at the same time, but opposite in many ways. They look much alike, but one parts her hair on the left and the other on the right. They grow up to be a Safe-Keeper and a Truth-Teller.

In this novel, Adele is the secretive one, who is able to lie at will. On the other hand, Eleda is always honest, unable to tell a lie under any conditions. Woe be to anyone who mixes the two and passes on a story to the wrong twin.

Adele and Eleda are the daughters of innkeepers, so there are always chores to do. The inn is quite successful due to its location and often full of guests. The family's favorite guest, however, is the Dream-Maker Melinda, who stays there every Wintermoon.

Melinda is very popular wherever she goes, but the inn is among her own favorite places. Every year Melinda asks Hannah -- the twin's mother -- what dream would she want and Hannah answers that she has everything she wants. But one year Melinda points out the nature of the twins and Hannah is both surprised and pleased; Melinda gave her a dream that Hannah never knew she wanted.

In this story, the twins have a best friend, Roelynn, the daughter of the richest man in town. Her father Karro has a dream that he is convinced will come true; he believes that Roelynn will marry Prince Darian and become Queen. Karro has business interests with Queen Lirabel and visits the capital quite often, taking Roelynn, but somehow the prince is always elsewhere when he visits.

Roelynn is very satisfied with that situation and continues to have affairs of the heart with the most unsuitable males she happens to meet. Since Karro almost has apoplexy many time over Roelynn's casual romances, something is bound to break sooner or later.

Eventually, Eleda has an affair of her own, which would have turned out badly if Adele had not meddled. Later, Eleda learns of her sister's secret love and keeps this secret safe, which only her sisterly love makes possible.

Once again, the author tells a heartwarming and personal story about two sisters, but this time more about sisterhood, friendship and romance than state secrets. Naturally, this story also has a surprise ending; to everyone, that is, except Adele, who knew all about it from the first. Another Safe-Keeper's secret.

Highly recommended for Shinn fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of ordinary people, extraordinary situations and true love.

-Arthur W. Jordin

Twin innkeeper's daughters Adele and Eldea find their special talents are mirrors: Adele is entrusted with secrets while Eldea cannot tell a lie if asked a question. A handsome dancing master and his apprentice come to stay at the inn evoking romance, mistaken identity, and many secrets in this wonderful sequel to Sharon Shinn's The Safe-Keeper's Secret, which needs no prior introduction to prove a satisfying stand-alone fantasy.

I love Sharon Shinn, but I think she should stick to writing adult novels. This is a solid story, with amazing characters, and a great setting, but just like the first book in the series, The Safe-Keeper's Secret, the ending was incredibly predictable.

This book still gets a high rating, because despite the predictability, I did enjoy it very much. I like the world Shinn has created, with people being born with a gift that makes them tell the truth at all times or keep secrets. However, these unique characteristics don't overshadow the narrative. This is a story about two mirror twin girls and their friends growing up together, finding themselves, and figuring out what they want in life. There are broken hearts, disappointed dreams, and many very happy, touching moments.

If you enjoyed The Safe-Keeper's Secret, you will love The Truth-Teller's Tale. For those new to the series, if you like romantic coming of age stories with a light fantasy backdrop, you will love these books.

"The Truth-Teller's Tale" is a young adult or middle-grade fantasy novel which will appeal most to girls. It's the second novel in a series, but you don't need to read the first book to understand this one. This one may spoil events in the first novel, though.

It's a charming novel, though I found it predictable. But it probably won't be predictable to a middle-grader. I was expecting a more complex story based on the "a Safe-Keeper told a secret, a Truth-Teller told a lie" beginning promise, but the moral choice was there at the end.

The story was a quick read, though it built slowly toward an action-filled ending. It was mostly about relationships--learning about the pitfalls of romantic relationships as well as loving people who are very different from you (like her twin sister and best friend). The characters were engaging, and the encounters they had due to their special skills were interesting.

I liked that the story touched on the drawbacks of getting physical (even "just" intense kissing). One couple cared about each other for years and were always true to each other, but there was one female (and two male) characters who were constantly falling in and out of love. Though our main character was rightly skeptical, it was implied that finding true love will immediately and completely break people of their habit of falling in love, growing bored with the person, and then looking elsewhere.

There was a minor amount of explicit bad language. There were no sex scenes. Overall, I'd recommend this enjoyable novel.

While this is the second in a series, after "The Safe-Keeper's Secret" it has almost entirely different characters and would stand alone perfectly well. TSKS felt more medieval, while this one feels more like 1800, with the waltz and a music box, but no trains or other signs of industrialization. Magic is integrated into the culture fairly modestly, with a few people having special powers or qualities. While there's some evil, like the first book, this one seemed a bit lighter to me. I'm afraid I saw through the major plot device immediately, but then I'm far from the target teenager audience. That didn't keep me from enjoying the tale. Shinn is superb at creating close communities of characters, attractive cultures, and visually arresting images. I can't wait to read the third and final book in this series, Dream Maker's Magic.