True True

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Author(s)

Don P. Hooper

Publisher

Nancy Paulsen Book

Genre(s)

Age Range

12+

Release Date

August 01, 2023

ISBN

978-0593462102

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In this powerful and fast-paced YA contemporary debut, a Black teen from Brooklyn struggles to fit in at his almost entirely-white Manhattan prep school, resulting in a fight and a plan for vengeance.

This is not how seventeen-year-old Gil imagined beginning his senior year—on the subway dressed in a tie and khakis headed towards Manhattan instead of his old public school in Brooklyn. Augustin Prep may only be a borough away, but the exclusive private school feels like it's a different world entirely compared to Gil's predominately Caribbean neighborhood in Brooklyn.

If it weren't for the partial scholarship, the school's robotic program and the chance for a better future, Gil wouldn't have even considered going. Then after a racist run-in with the school's golden boy on the first day ends in a fight that leaves only Gil suspended, Gil understands the truth about his new school—Augustin may pay lip service to diversity, but that isn’t the same as truly accepting him and the other Black students as equal. But Gil intends to leave his mark on Augustin anyway.

If the school isn't going to carve out a space for him, he will carve it out for himself. Using Sun Tzu’s The Art of War as his guide, Gil wages his own clandestine war against the racist administration, parents and students, and works with the other Black students to ensure their voices are finally heard. But the more enmeshed Gil becomes in school politics, the more difficult it becomes to balance not only his life at home with his friends and family, but a possible new romance with a girl he’d move mountains for. In the end, his war could cost him everything he wants the most.

Editor review

1 review

Navigating Between Cultures in New York City

July 06, 2023

Overall rating

5.0

Plot

5.0

Characters

5.0

Writing Style

5.0

Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)

N/A

Gil lives in Brooklyn, where his family is having some problems. His mother just got a job with the MTA after being waitlisted, so that's a good thing, but it's offset by his grandmother's worsening dementia, and the fact that his father has had to return to Jamaica in order to work out details of his immigration status. Gil knows this is crucial, because he's had a friend whose father was deported, but still misses his father. Because his high school doesn't have the STEM resources for him to properly prepare for college, he takes a position to go to Augustin Prep in Manhattan. He's glad for the opportunities that this might provide when it comes to college scholarships, and is excited about the robotics team, but is very reluctant to leave the comfort of his Brooklyn neighborhood and the strong cultural ties there. He knows that his prep school uniform will cause him trouble outside of Manhattan, and knows that in the rarified, mainly white atmosphere of Augustin Prep, his Blackness will be an issue. Even though he meets a few supportive people, like Tammy, who heads the Black Cultue Club group, there are constant microaggressions from staff as well as horrific treatment from students like Terry and his friends on the football team. After Gil innocently moves Terry's sweater in the cafeteria, Terry attacks Gil, and even uses the n-word. Of course, Gil is blamed for the altercation, and suspended. When he comes back, he is put on probation, which means he can't compete in robotics club or join the BCC. Also an avid martial arts practitioner who participates at the Always Persevere Dojo, he knows the moves he needs to physically defends himself, but accepts a copy of Sun Tzu's The Art of War from one of his teachers, and begins to formulate ways to fight back against the racist adminstration and culture of Augustin Prep. He wants to take full advantages of the privileges that the private school affords, but will he be able to?

Good Points

Gil is a great character with a lot of different interests. He is very invested in the Always Persevere Dojo, and even mentors younger kids there. He is passionate about robotics, and looking forward to the opportunities that Augustin Prep will offer him. He is supportive of his friends in Brooklyn, Rej and Stretch, and realizes that they will not have the same chances that he has. Gil is conflicted about who he is and where he belongs, but when he sees the racial injustices that aren't being addressed at Augustin, he is willing to work to change them, even though there could be a personal price to pay. Even with all of that on his plate, he is still a teen boy, and his relationship with Tammy is based on mutual respect and equality, which I really appreciated.

Despite all of the racial issues that Gil and his classmates of color face, there were moments of hopefulness that keep Gil going. His grandmother, when she is not consumed by the fog of her dementia, is grateful that things have changed incrementally since she was young, and even since Gil's parents were starting out. It is good to see that Gil is able to have a sense of agency and tries to change the situations at his school, not just for himself, but for students who will come after him.

Readers who want to mix realistic teen drama with elements of racial issues and who liked this combination in Arnold's I Rise, Buford's Kneel and Coles' Black Was the Ink will enjoy this great debut novel from the author of the short story Got Me a Jet Pack, which was published in the 2021 Black Boy Joy collection. It would be a great fiction accompaniment to Wes Moore's autobiographical Discovering Wes Moore.

Karen Yingling, Staff Reviewer Top 10 Reviewer 2014 reviews

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Well written, relevant and powerful

July 05, 2023

Overall rating

5.0

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5.0

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True, True follows Gil, a 17-year-old Black student as he starts his senior year at an elite, mostly white prep school in Manhattan, commuting in from his Caribbean neighborhood in Brooklyn. Gil is dealing with a lot. His father is in Jamaica trying to work on immigration documents to be able to live in the US and his Granma has early-stage dementia. Gil is excited about the academic opportunities at Augustin Prep, especially the school's well-funded robotics team. He is blindsided when he is taunted with a racist slur and attacked by three of the school's football players. He discovers that institutionalized racism runs deep at the school when he is the only one suspended. He looks to Sun Tzu's The Art of War in fighting racism at Augustin Prep.
Gil organizes with the other black students who have also encountered everything from microaggressions to overt racism at Augustin. He becomes overwhelmed juggling this fight with his academics, old friends from Brooklyn, new friends, and family commitments and must learn to prioritize and communicate better with those he cares about. Gil is a likeable character who feels very real, because he somtimes makes poor choices and grows considerably throughout the course of the story. He realizes that even The Art of War doesn't have all the answers and must forge his own path. True True is often difficult to read because of the appalling racism encountered by Gil and the other students of color. True True is a well-written, immersive, relevant and powerful YA contemporary novel. Thank you to BookishFirst for an ARC to review.