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The co-op bookstore for avid readers
Truth Is: A Novel in Verse
From the critically acclaimed author of All the Fighting Parts comes an empowering and defiant novel in verse in which a teen poet grapples with an unplanned pregnancy and determines what happens to her body in a world that wants to take the choice away from her.
Seventeen-year-old Truth Bangura wants nothing more than to know a life beyond her hometown. Writing and performing is her only solace in a life overwhelmed by a drifting relationship with her best friend, an emotionally turbulent home environment, and the reality that her below average grades make her true dream--escaping her mother's grasp after graduation--uncertain. When Truth learns she's pregnant by her ex-boyfriend, she makes one decision she's finally sure about: an abortion. Determined to move forward, Truth turns to the pages in her notebook with the support of her slam poetry team--including the poet with a voice smooth as summer jazz, who's been catching her eye during practice. At an open mic night, Truth finally gains the courage to perform a piece that dives into her rocky relationship with her mother-and reveals the choice she never told her. But when a video of Truth's performance is posted online and starts going viral, her decision quickly becomes everyone's business-including her mother's. Told through searing free-verse, journal entries, and interspersed fill-in-the-blank poetry prompts, Hannah V. Sawyerr's Truth Is reminds us there is always a choice. There is always hope. And there is always a way forward.
Seventeen-year-old Truth Bangura wants nothing more than to know a life beyond her hometown. Writing and performing is her only solace in a life overwhelmed by a drifting relationship with her best friend, an emotionally turbulent home environment, and the reality that her below average grades make her true dream--escaping her mother's grasp after graduation--uncertain. When Truth learns she's pregnant by her ex-boyfriend, she makes one decision she's finally sure about: an abortion. Determined to move forward, Truth turns to the pages in her notebook with the support of her slam poetry team--including the poet with a voice smooth as summer jazz, who's been catching her eye during practice. At an open mic night, Truth finally gains the courage to perform a piece that dives into her rocky relationship with her mother-and reveals the choice she never told her. But when a video of Truth's performance is posted online and starts going viral, her decision quickly becomes everyone's business-including her mother's. Told through searing free-verse, journal entries, and interspersed fill-in-the-blank poetry prompts, Hannah V. Sawyerr's Truth Is reminds us there is always a choice. There is always hope. And there is always a way forward.
Book Details
- Publisher: Amulet Books
- Publish Date: Sep 23rd, 2025
- Pages: 480
- Language: English
- Edition: undefined - undefined
- Dimensions: 8.43in - 5.83in - 1.57in - 1.20lb
- EAN: 9781419776830
- Recommended age: 13-17
- Categories: • Social Themes - Pregnancy• Novels in Verse• Family - Parents
About the Author
Sawyerr, Hannah V.: - Hannah V. Sawyerr was recognized as the Youth Poet Laureate of Baltimore in 2016. Her spoken word has been featured on the BBC's World Have Your Say program as well as the National Education Association's "Do You Hear Us?" campaign. Her written word has been included in gal-dem, Rookie, and xoNecole. She holds a BA in English from Morgan State University and an MFA in creative writing from the New School. Sawyerr is an English professor at Loyola Marymount University and lives in Los Angeles.
Praise for this book
***STARRED REVIEW***
"Sawyerr (All The Fighting Parts) combines fast-paced, unwavering verse poems with text messages, social media transcripts, and more in this stunning portrait of a teen in transition that earns all the snaps."-- "Publishers Weekly"
"Sawyerr (All The Fighting Parts) combines fast-paced, unwavering verse poems with text messages, social media transcripts, and more in this stunning portrait of a teen in transition that earns all the snaps."-- "Publishers Weekly"
***STARRED REVIEW***
"Sawyerr's sophomore novel uses the verse format stunningly to highlight the complexities woven into each of Truth's authentic and compelling relationships. The book deftly addresses restrictive policies related to abortion access while prioritizing Truth's talent, goals, and growth in a humanizing and inspirational way...An unforgettable, dynamic, and emotionally resonant novel in verse."-- "Kirkus Reviews"
"Sawyerr's sophomore novel uses the verse format stunningly to highlight the complexities woven into each of Truth's authentic and compelling relationships. The book deftly addresses restrictive policies related to abortion access while prioritizing Truth's talent, goals, and growth in a humanizing and inspirational way...An unforgettable, dynamic, and emotionally resonant novel in verse."-- "Kirkus Reviews"
***STARRED REVIEW***
"[P]ortrayed authentically with flaws and hope. Empowering and fierce..."-- "Booklist"
"[P]ortrayed authentically with flaws and hope. Empowering and fierce..."-- "Booklist"
"First-person, free-verse narration is interspersed with journal entries, poetry exercises, lists, and text chains to offer a creatively structured look at a girl just trying to find a good life amidst the chaos of a broken home, a callous school situation, and a dissolving friendship."-- "The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books"