Truth With A Capital T - Bethany Hegedus

Truth with a Capital T by Bethany Hegedus

Mabelle is looking forward to spending the summer with her grandparents in Tweedle, GA. Mabelle's parents are popular therapist, they are on summer book tour. Mabelle is looking forward to some alone time with her grandparents but is very surprised that her new cousin Issac is spending the summer as well. Aunt Alice, adopted Issac after his mother died. The women were neighbors and friends.

Before summer started Mabelle learned that she would be in regular classes next year, not gifted and talented. Mabelle plans on studying the book of little known facts over the summer, hoping to retake the G&T test and pass. Each chapter begins with a little known fact Mabelle has learned.

Mabelle's grandparents are a retired musical group. The house was recently inherited from Edith, a long lost aunt on the grandfather's side of the family. There was some kind of family falling out, no ones why. The grandparents own the large antebellum house with one condition, the west wing must stay locked. Mabelle really wants to know what behind the lock door.

I really enjoyed Truth with a Capital T. I liked Mabelle from the start. I think she could easily carry the story on her own but the author doesn't put it all on Mabelle's shoulders. Hegedus writes a great story, using all the characters she created.

Mabelle is a little jealous of Issac. She is no longer the only grandchild plus Issac has a talent (trumpet). I really liked that Issac being Black, isn't an issue but at the same time is not ignored. To prove she's still talented Mabelle is determined to win a blue ribbon at the Anniversary Spectacular. Mabelle finally decides clogging is her best chance at winning. She enters with a group. Issac, Grace, a girl she meet on the bus, Jimmy and Taylor, the brothers from next door.

The friendship between the five was one of my favorite parts of the story. Even more so after Mabelle got into the locked wing and discovers her families secret. There have always been rumors about there being a stop on the Underground Railround in Tweedle. Good or bad Mabelle wants to know what roll her ancestors played. The town librarian, Mr Phelps makes the five friends research assistants. They spend many hours (when not clogging) looking into what they found in the locked wing.

It was very nice to see a librarian play such an active part in the story and kids interested in history. The author does a very good job of explaining the importance of quilts and their symbols to slaves who were escaping to the North. Truth with a Capital T, is a wonderful contemporary novel that embraces history at the same time.

An excerpt