One Speck of Truth

One Speck of Truth
Author(s)
Age Range
8+
Release Date
March 05, 2019
ISBN
978-0062672667
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A heartwarming and poignant story that explores the bonds of family and the importance of knowing your own history, from the critically acclaimed author of My Life with the Liars and the ALA Notable Book Forever, or a Long, Long Time

Alma has everything she needs, except answers to her questions. Her mother won’t tell her why her beloved stepfather, Adam, is suddenly gone this summer. Or about life in Portugal, where her parents met. Not even about her father, who Alma cannot find, no matter how many graveyards she searches with her best friend, Julia.

Then Alma’s mother shocks her by moving them both to Lisbon so Alma can fall in love with the vibrant city where her father grew up. There she discovers she has more family than she could have imagined.

She hopes Portugal holds the answers she’s been desperately searching for, but it turns out finding the truth may be more complicated than she, or her mother, bargained for.

A heartwarming and poignant story that explores the bonds of family and the importance of knowing your own history, from the critically acclaimed author of My Life with the Liars and the ALA Notable Book Forever, or a Long, Long Time

Alma has everything she needs, except answers to her questions. Her mother won’t tell her why her beloved stepfather, Adam, is suddenly gone this summer. Or about life in Portugal, where her parents met. Not even about her father, who Alma cannot find, no matter how many graveyards she searches with her best friend, Julia.

Then Alma’s mother shocks her by moving them both to Lisbon so Alma can fall in love with the vibrant city where her father grew up. There she discovers she has more family than she could have imagined.

She hopes Portugal holds the answers she’s been desperately searching for, but it turns out finding the truth may be more complicated than she, or her mother, bargained for.

Editor reviews

2 reviews
The importance of truth
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4.0
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Alma knows that if good girls were girls with no questions, she wasn't a good girl. She has SO MANY questions. Most of them revolve around her dad. All she's been told is that he died when she was a baby, and no one will even tell her where he's buried.

And so Alma searches. She enlists the help of her best friend, Julia, and the two girls comb the cemeteries that surround their homes--though Julia is adopted, and she has questions of her own.

Alma's mom isn't helpful at all. She insists that Alma isn't old enough to know/understand/deal with any of the truths that Alma craves, and as a result Alma becomes more and more frustrated and desperate.

ONE SPECK OF TRUTH by Caela Carter is a story of family secrets, big and small lies, and the importance of truth. Alma and her mother are both messes, and my heart ached for both of them through the pages of the book. I confess that I felt less bad for Grace, Alma's mother, since she was making all of the decisions for both of them and could have stopped the pain at any point. That said, their challenges made for a terrific book about family relationships and friendships. Alma is a wonderful protagonist, and readers will root for her to get the answers she so desperately craves.

The ending of ONE SPECK OF TRUTH isn't as messy as life often is, but that's okay. There's plenty of mess leading up to it, and the message of truth as an important foundation for a good relationship is both subtle and powerful.

My thanks to YA Books Central and the publisher for a copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.
Good Points
Focus on family relationships and friendships

Highlights the importance of truth
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