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Jackie Lea Sommers

Truest Hardcover – September 1, 2015

by Jackie Lea Sommers (Author)

67 ratings

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A breathtaking debut brings us the unforgettable story of a small-town love, big dreams, and family drama.

Silas Hart has seriously shaken up Westlin Beck's small-town life. Brand-new to town, Silas is different from the guys in Green Lake. He's curious, poetic, philosophical, maddening—and really, really cute. But Silas has a sister—and she has a secret. And West has a boyfriend. And life in Green Lake is about to change forever.

Truest is a stunning, addictive debut. Romantic, fun, tender, and satisfying, it asks as many questions as it answers. Perfect for fans of The Fault in Our Stars and Ten Things We Did (and Probably Shouldn't Have).

Print length

384 pages
Language

English
Publisher

HarperCollins
Publication date

September 1, 2015
Grade level

8 - 9
Reading age

13 - 17 years
Dimensions

5.5 x 1.21 x 8.25 inches
ISBN-10

0062348256
ISBN-13

978-0062348258
UNSPSC-Code
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Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Gr 10 Up—A romantic debut exploring the devastating effects of mental illness on all members of the family. When Silas Hart sees Westlin Beck for the first time, it's love at first sight for him. And West? She's got a lot on her mind: her pastor father's near-constant absence from home, her long-time boyfriend, another good friend's blindness. As her friendship with Silas develops, West realizes his sister Laurel's mental illness hangs over the family like a cloud—and when tragedy strikes, leaving both Silas and West racked with guilt, it seems their romance will implode under the strain. Can they figure out a way to remain each other's "truest" love? This is a standard romance that attempts to add emotional weight with the inclusion of an obscure mental illness. However, it takes forever for West to come to the obvious conclusion that she needs to dump boyfriend number one and move on; after she does, this work sags in the middle as it goes in an unexpected direction, away from the core love story. On-page sex and graphic language land this squarely in the older teen category. VERDICT An additional purchase for libraries where Sarah Dessen's stories are popular.—Elizabeth Friend, Wester Middle School, TX

Review

A satisfyingly realistic portrait of small-town life and one girl’s spiritual and emotional maturation within it. -- Kirkus Reviews

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ HarperCollins (September 1, 2015)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 384 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0062348256
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0062348258
Reading age ‏ : ‎ 13 - 17 years
Grade level ‏ : ‎ 8 - 9
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 14.4 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 1.21 x 8.25 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #2,771,342 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #2,322 in Teen & Young Adult Siblings Fiction

Customer Reviews:
67 ratings

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Jackie Lea Sommers

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Jackie Lea Sommers lives and loves and writes in Minnesota, where the people are nice and the Os are long. She is the 2013 winner of the Katherine Paterson Prize. She dislikes OCD, horcruxes, and Minnesota winters. She likes book boyfriends, cranky teenagers, and Minnesota springs.

Customer reviews

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1 star		4%

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Top reviews from the United States

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kales

Truly it's a great book.

Reviewed in the United States on September 3, 2015

Verified Purchase

I saw this book on a fellow bloggers’ list of books to be released. The cover art intrigued me, so I did some Googling and found the author's website. I loved her blog. After reading her blog posts I knew I would enjoy her debut novel. So when I had a chance to read the novel before the release day, I said yes.

It was wonderful.

It made me think.

I preordered extra copies to give as gifts.

l told all my friends.

I told my library they had to order copies.

And now I am telling you. You have to read this book.

West's best friend is working as a counselor at a summer camp. Her boyfriend is working full time with his dad. Her dad pays more attention to the members in his church congregation than the members of his own family. So West is own her own for the summer before her senior year. Her only plans are working, listening to Suillivan Knox in the evening, and deciding on a major and a collage.

Until Silas Hart moves in town.

Good-looking Silas, who is her new coworker, asks a lot of questions and is willing to listen to Suillivan Knox with her.

Suddenly it looks like West has a friend this summer. Actually, two friends; Silas and his twin sister, Laurel. But just because West now has plans for the summer doesn't mean her problems all go away. Plus West might like Silas more as more than just a friend.

In her debut novel, Sommers is willing to ask all the hard questions and is willing to let her readers answer them. Truest is intense, compelling, intriguing, and honest, so make sure you check it out.

Be it noted this novel contains mature content such as drinking, expletive language, and sexuality.

I received this novel in exchange for an honest review but I did buy a couple copies from Amazon for friends.

Helpful

asuiterclarke

A faith-infused book that is fully readable for people who have no interest in God

Reviewed in the United States on October 4, 2015

Verified Purchase

Truest captures life in small-town Minnesota so completely. I'll give you an example. Here is a quote that made me laugh out loud from sheer familiarity:

"That evening was a perfect Minnesota June night, cool and breezy, and Cedar Street was quiet except for the sound of Jody Perkins riding his lawn mower home from the bar."

Need I say more? Okay, I will.

I haven't been reading a lot of YA in the past few years. Perhaps it comes as no surprise that, as a genre, it's sort of frowned on in MFA writing programs, which of course I think is nonsense because writing for a younger audience often takes a lot more skill and hard work than writing for the 'literary' crowd.

Anyway. I could wax philosophical about that for hours. I could tell you that adults used to reading and excited by a challenge will plod through Proust and Dickens just to say that they did it, whereas teenagers and young adults have no qualms about closing a book ten pages in if they're not hooked. I could tell you all about that, but instead, how about I just say some nice things about Truest? There are, after all, many nice things to say.

Westlin Beck is the pastor's daughter, living in Green Lake, Minnesota and embarking on her last summer break before the end of her high school career. She's still coming to terms with the fact that her boyfriend will be working all summer, and her best friend away at camp, when a new family arrives in Green Lake (and we all know what a big deal that is in a tiny town where everyone knows everyone).

From the moment she meets Silas and Laurel Hart, she knows their presence in her little community is going to change everything. West's dad butts in and gets Silas to be her partner for the summer, working with her to detail cars, and that settles it. She's going to have to get to know him. But despite their rocky start, she finds herself growing to like Silas and Laurel, even though Laurel has some serious issues that West isn't sure she -- or any teenager, for that matter -- is equipped to deal with.

All right, I'll come back to it. It's hard to write for teenagers. You need to have simple language, but not dumbed down words. There have to be lovely turns of phrase, but absolutely zero over-writing. You want to be funny, but you can't be too hilarious or people won't take you seriously. You want to have heart-wrenching moments, but not so many that people get a hangover of angst (an angst-over, if you will) from reading your book.

Sommers nails it. Silas is the ultimate romantic interest: clever, intelligent, good-looking, quirky (his hysterical t-shirt collection is my favorite) and wise. Most of all, he's damaged, and don't we all love a good damaged, sexy man? Yes. Yes we do.

Truest tackles mental illness, religion, poetry, philosophy, sex, youth, and growing up all in just a few hundred pages, set in the backdrop of an instantly recognizable place for so many people -- a small town. A town where everyone knows everyone's business. Where everyone knows you and expects things of you, especially in West's case as the pastor's daughter.

I related so much to this book, having grown up in a tiny community of conservative, Bible-believing Christians who had immovable views on sex, swearing, and salvation. I honestly don't know how Sommers managed to write a book 100% infused with faith and yet still so readable and relatable for people who have no interest in God at all, but my hat is off to her for this feat.

She managed to write one of the most honest books about faith and family that I've ever read, and all in this innocent package that so many 'serious' readers refuse to touch: Young Adult fiction.

That's the beauty of YA, and why I think it's such an important genre. Not only is it one of the most marketable, highest selling genres in the industry right now, but its audience is at the age where they're thinking about their lives, what they believe, and who they want to be.

Helpful

Matt Anderson

Themes of love and truth were tackled head-on in this story, while also causing the reader to think through faith and philosophy

Reviewed in the United States on September 1, 2015

Verified Purchase

I was instantly caught up in this story! Sommers does an awesome job of developing fascinating characters, and puts them into highly entertaining circumstances. The characters feel full and real, and even the side characters were well-developed.

Themes of love and truth were tackled head-on in this story, while also causing the reader to think through both faith and philosophy.

"Truest," while having emotional depth, was also extremely funny. There were times when I was laughing out loud, and there were times when I felt like I could cry. This book really moved me. It resonated with my male heart.

6 people found this helpful

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Lauras_Book_Addiction

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 24, 2017

Verified Purchase

"His first day felt about a million years long: every class period was like a Band-Aid, and every passing time was akin to ripping it off as I scanned every crowd for a familiar, ridiculously tall boy. I wondered if I would ever be able to act like a normal person around him again. My heart was branded with his initials."

I honestly think Truest is my biggest book surprise of 2017, I really didn't know what to expect when I started this book but it felt a little life affirming. I dare anyone to read page 356-357 & not feel any emotion for these wonderful characters.

West & Silas are my new favourite YA couple. I adore them together and I laughed,swooned and cried along their story. Also a book boyfriend that reads, hell yes!!!

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Truest Hardcover – September 1, 2015

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