Hannah V. Sawyerr made herself a real presence in YA fiction in verse with her debut novel, All The Fighting Parts. Her narrator, Amina, is molested by her pastor, a charismatic preacher who is adored and held on a pedestal by his congregation. Formerly outspoken, she is a shell of herself until she has the courage to confront him in court.
Sawyerr's sophomore offering, Truth Is, brings readers another unforgettable narrator facing daunting challenges openly, eloquently, and vulnerably.
When we meet Truth for the first time she's in a mandatory meeting with her high school guidance counselor. He asks her where she sees herself after graduation. Ignoring her answer, he tells her she has options.
"Hands me three pamphlets:
Pamphlet One: Career and Trade Schools
For You
Pamphlet Two: The Power of the US
Army
Pamphlet Three: Community College of
Philadelphia
According to my best friend Zariah's
"Next Steps" meeting
there's a fourth option
Montesquieu never gives me:
(Missing) Pamphlet Four: Four-Year
Colleges and Universities"
He isn't the only one writing her off. All her life her mother has been telling her she's not good at school. Zariah is the only one who's shown faith in Truth.
But her academic future isn't the only crisis in Truth's life. She's become pregnant by the college student who is her ex boyfriend. She has to decide what to do without help.
"One positive pregnancy test during my mother's senior year,
courtesy of the guy her parents never knew about
turned all her dreams into distant memories--
and her entire family's pride into shame."
She feels like she can't tell her mother. Her father, who moved on to a suburban second family, is out of the picture. Zariah turns out to be a judgemental right to lifer.
Truth, however, is finding a real source of support, a found family, in the slam poetry team she's just joined. As she puts her reality into words and shares it with audiences she receives enormous amounts of validation.
Maybe she can strive for and achieve a future not limited to three pamphlets.
Sawyerr's eloquence is not limited to the narrative. I love how she describes the heart of the book in her acknowledgement.
"In the beginning of the novel, Truth desperately wants to escape her circumstances. As the novel progresses, Truth's need to escape becomes more about her love for herself and how she envisions her future. She also learns that a part of being able to build a better future is being big enough to confront your present and your past."
In her author's note Sawyerr talks about learning about the overturning of Roe v. Wade--a Healthcare access threat and a denial of women's bodily autonomy. Truth Is is most definitely a pro choice novel clearly describing the challenging nature of the deeply personal decision Truth has to make and her lack of regret following the procedure.
"It is my hope that years from now, we'll have progressed as a country when it comes to reproductive autonomy and destigmatizing abortion care. I hope that years from now, a student picks up this book and reads about the challenges that Truth faces and goes 'Is that really how it was back then?'"
For those reasons I consider Truth Is to be an urgent acquisition for school and public libraries. If my kids were still teens I'd buy each a personal copy. I very much hope that Sawyerr is diligently at work on another speaking truth to life masterpiece.
On a purrrsonal note, last night was a truly magical Halloween for me. Black Bear Mutual Aid Fund decorated a car for the downtown Orono Trunk or Treat. Most of us were pirates. I was a kid hostage kidnapped for ransom money. There were hundreds of people (and some adorable dogs) collecting candy and mingling. The kids weren't the only ones bringing their A costume game. I got the best job. I got to spend the time taking pictures. Like drag performing, photography puts me in the zone, doing something I love to do skillfully, creatively, and confidently. And my pictures make people so happy! After our candy ran out we had dinner at Family Dog. Bailey and Cam treated me to a yummy chicken fingers and fries dinner. A truly enchanted evening.
A great big shout out goes out to all who participated.
Jules Hathaway
Sent from my Galaxy
