Half-Truths
Set in North Carolina during the 1950s, this novel is for readers ages 13 and older. We are quickly introduced to the protagonist, 15-year-old Kate Dinsmore. Kate dreams of becoming a journalist and leaving the tobacco farm in Tabor City where she grew up. With wealthy grandparents in Charlotte, she moves in with them, hoping they will support her goal of attending college to pursue a degree in journalism.
In Charlotte, Kate meets Lillian, her grandmother’s teenage maid. At first, Kate does not realize that Lillian is African American, due to Lillian’s light skin. But when Kate finds out that Auntie Esther, her grandmother’s housekeeper, is Lillian’s grandmother, Kate starts to wonder about family relationships. Lillian and Kate strike up a friendship of sorts, sharing secrets with each other, but Kate is reluctant to acknowledge Lillian outside of the house, especially after she decides to transfer to the high school in Charlotte.
While exploring the attic, Kate finds letters, an old teacup, and clues about her ancestors that increasingly point to Lillian’s family as well. The two girls begin to search for answers, but once the truth comes out, it changes everything about the worlds they thought they knew.
Very evocative of the times, with finely drawn characters who all have all-too-human flaws, this novel kept my interest from beginning to end. And kudos to the author for addressing real history in the form of racial prejudice and the Ku Klux Klan in an appropriate manner for young adult readers.
