Common Sense Media Review
By Kate Pavao
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Girl finds voice in book filled with brutality and romance.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 14+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
What's the Story?
Judith has been an outcast since she returned to her settlement after going missing for two years. She had been held by a crazy man who cut out half her tongue before setting her free. Now, her mother has forbid her to attempt to speak, and there are rumors that she's cursed. Beyond her chores, Judy spends her time watching -- and watching out for -- Lucas, an honest, hardworking young man she has loved her whole life -- and who also is the son of her captor. When a new, unexpected friend decides to help Judy work on her speech, she begins to find a voice, buried for so long. But in her effort to protect Lucas and the town, she has started a chain of events that might ruin both their lives.
Is It Any Good?
The unusual and sophisticated storytelling makes this book a better fit for careful teen readers. The author gives readers only hints at the date, place, and history of Judy's settlement, and the details about her capture remain a mystery until the end. More mature readers also will be better prepared for the dark material including the brutal amputation of much of Judy's tongue and primitive surgery for her war-wounded brother.
There's a lot of rough stuff here, but readers looking for a romance will find plenty to swoon over in the tender gestures between Judy and Lucas. For example, one night she finds him freezing outside his home and secretly curls up with him under the blankets, even though "[e]very moment I tell myself I don't dare stay any longer." The ending comes across a bit too neat given all the buildup, but it's a satisfying finish for the long-suffering couple.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about author Julie Berry's choice to keep the details about time and setting a mystery. Berry told School Library Journal, "I love historical fiction, but I didn't want Judith's story to take on the weight of the genre's conventional expectations." Do you think this was a good choice?
The publisher recommends All the Truth That's In Me for the 12-to-17 age group. What age would you recommend it for?
Do you think All the Truth That's In Me would make a good movie? Why, or why not? If yes, whom would you pick to play the lead characters?
Book Details
- Author :
- Genre : Coming of Age
- Book type : Fiction
- Publisher : Viking
- Publication date : September 26, 2013
- Publisher's recommended age(s) : 12 - 17
- Number of pages : 288
- Available on : Nook, Audiobook (unabridged), Hardback, Kindle
- Last updated : July 13, 2017
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