Author: Kit Pearson
Pages: 267
Published: 2012
Genre: Middle-Grade Fiction, Historical Fiction
Edition: Hardcover
Source: Library
Description: Kit Pearson’ s endearing heroine from The Whole Truth, Polly, is now thirteen and following in her sister’ s footsteps to a boarding school in Victoria. The adjustment is difficult— all those rules!— and Polly often escapes into her dreams of becoming an artist. At least her family is intact again, and there are no more dark and difficult secrets to be kept hidden . . . that is, until her teenage sister, Maud, makes a dramatic confession. Will Polly be able to keep this new secret? Will it tear her family apart again? (via Goodreads)
Thoughts: Not sure how I first found out about this book, but probably when doing a searching for anything new out by Kit Pearson, who has long been a favourite author of mine since I was about 10 or 12.
I felt that this was a nice continuation of The Whole Truth and liked that a good number of the same characters appeared in the book, in addition to some new characters that made an appearance in the book. The book was similar to another favourite book mine by Kit Pearson that I enjoyed as a middle-grade reader, The Daring Game.
Nothing really stood out for me, but I did like that there was a change in scenery during several points in the story, this one had scenes in Vancouver, Victoria and Kelowna, and the small island community Polly lived in during The Whole Truth. I also liked that the personality of Polly continued to evolve over the course of the book, experiencing emotions that a 13-year old probably would experience, given the set of circumstances that Polly was faced with.
As well, I liked how the author uses language that appreciates that her readership will probably want something that can challenge their reading ability, while not dumbing it down, making it too easy for them to read. And writing in a way that even adult readers enjoy the book as well. And as this reader can attest to, Ms. Pearson does that well.
But if there was something that I didn't enjoy it was that the author basically closed the book on Polly and her family and friends at the end, as I would have like see how Polly evolved as a person through the different adventures and experiences as she grew into a young adult.
Bottom line: A good addition to the Kit Pearson cannon and while it is not my favourite book of hers, it is engaging for the reader and is able to challenge middle-grade readers. I would also recommend The Daring Game and The War Guest Trilogy, which are also written by the same author.
Rating: 4.25/5
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