The Truth-teller's Tale [Library Binding]

Sharon Shinn (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 10, 2008

Innkeeper’s daughters Adele and Eleda are “mirror twins”—identical twins whose looks are reflections of each other’s—and their special talents are like mirrors, too. Adele is a Safe-Keeper, entrusted with hearing and never revealing others’ secrets; Eleda is a Truth-Teller, who cannot tell a lie when asked a direct question. The town of Merendon relies on the twins, no one more than their best friend, Roelynn Karro, whose strict, wealthy father is determined to marry her off to the prince. When the girls are seventeen, a handsome dancing-master and his apprentice come to stay at the inn, and thus begins a chain of romance, mistaken identity, and some very surprising truths and falsehoods.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 8 Up -Teen readers will be captivated by this medieval tale. Eleda and Adele, mirror twins, discover that they are a Truth-Teller and a Safe-Keeper, respectively. Truth-Tellers are incapable of telling lies and recognize when others are lying, so society relies on their unwavering trustworthiness. Safe-Keepers cannot reveal what is told to them in confidence, and they bear the burden of people's confessions. The sisters do not realize the ramifications of their gifts until their teen years, when romantic and political intrigue abounds, and situations become more adult. Their friend Roelynn, whose wealthy merchant father intends to marry her off to the prince, sows plenty of wild oats behind her father's back. She often drags the sisters into the fray, and the summer they are all 17, a chain of events is set into motion that changes their lives. Astute readers may predict the ending, but they will enjoy it nonetheless. Though at its base the story is in some ways a stereotypical teen romance, the author's use of language and her writing style elevate this novel. Shinn has a beautiful turn of phrase and a knack for writing a sentence that will stop readers in their tracks. The plot is episodic-incidents generally revolve around the town celebrations of either Wintermoon or Summermoon-but these festivals provide a reason for various characters to come and go from the inn that the girls' parents run. Fans of romances or mystical stories will revel in this offering.-Cheri Dobbs, Detroit Country Day Middle School, Beverly Hills, MI
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

*Starred Review* Gr. 7-10. Eleda sees the world in "all sharp edges and simple lines": she is a Truth-Teller, and she cannot speak a lie or hear one spoken. Her twin, Adele, whose name is a palindrome of Eleda's, is a Safe-Keeper, a listener who never betrays a confidence. Two halves of a whole, the sisters occasionally infuriate each other but frequently find that their complementary gifts prove useful--particularly as they stumble through adolescence, experiencing love and heartache, and sharing everything with their high-spirited friend, Roellyn. The novel's first half follows the girls from early childhood to their teens; the second half focuses on their seventeenth summer, when the arrival of two handsome strangers occasions both swooning romance and enough wild confusion to rival Shakespeare's most outrageous comedies. The rules governing the Truth-Telling and Safe-Keeping gifts sometimes feel too conveniently flexible, and Eleda--a slightly rigid personality, as befitting her Truth-Telling role--may appeal to readers less than her sister and the vivacious Roellyn. But the comforting, fairy-tale rhythms of the girls' stories exert an irresistible pull, and Shinn's numerous fans will welcome a second helping of the refreshing tale spinning and charmingly homespun, village-centered fantasy culture that marked The Safe-Keeper's Secret [BKL Ap 15 04]. Jennifer Mattson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Library Binding: 276 pages
• Publisher: Paw Prints 2008-10-10; Reprint edition (October 10, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1439561508
• ISBN-13: 978-1439561508
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,265,302 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Sharon Shinn is a journalist who works for a trade magazine. Her first novel, The Shapechanger's Wife, was selected by Locus as the best first fantasy novel of 1995. She has won the William C. Crawford Award for Outstanding New Fantasy Writer, and was twice nominated for the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer. A graduate of Northwestern University, she has lived in the Midwest most of her life.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A magical book, September 21, 2005

By 

Reader from Gladstone (Missouri) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Truth-teller's Tale (Bccb Blue Ribbon Fiction Books (Awards)) (Hardcover)

"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.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A subtle gem of a story, January 31, 2006

By 

Louise Marley "Louise" (Pacific Northwest) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Truth-teller's Tale (Bccb Blue Ribbon Fiction Books (Awards)) (Hardcover)

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!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Lived Happily Ever After, January 26, 2006

By 

JW (San Diego) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Truth-teller's Tale (Bccb Blue Ribbon Fiction Books (Awards)) (Hardcover)

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.