FICTION

Truth Is

by Hannah V. Sawyerr
Abrams/Amulet. Sept. 2025. 480p. ebk. $19.79. ISBN 9798887074016. Gr 9 Up
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Gr 9 Up–Truth Bangura, a high school senior dealing with others’ low expectations for her life after high school, joins a slam poetry team and finds a way to express her true self and a future she never knew was possible. This is an excellent insight into a young woman’s struggle with losing a friendship that requires her to change to fit a mold or risk being honest, and finding a new friend who accepts her as she is. There is an abortion in this book, but this book isn’t just about abortion. Sawyerr presents a stark look at how the oversimplification of an issue like abortion ignores the reality of people who do not have the choices so many imagine there to be.
VERDICT Give this to readers struggling with changing friend dynamics and those starting to ask questions that too often are answered with opinions rather than fact.
Reviewed by Melinda Graham , Sep 05, 2025

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