Description
Juniper, Wyoming high school student Ash is still reeling from his mother's death and ostracization by his friends when his father signs him up to join the crew for a college production of Oklahoma! Ash is slowly drawn out of his shell by student reporter Jenna and the star of the show, Shane, with whom a romance slowly blooms. Shane is talented, sensitive, and magnetic, but also deeply troubled. When Shane is found brutally beaten and unconscious, Jenna and Ash are shattered. And after Shane dies, they watch his death become a rallying point for gay rights advocates and they wonder what the full story is and if they truly knew Shane at all.
All The Truth I Can Stand is a heartbreaking exploration of grief and legacy and details the good and the bad that can come to pass when an imperfect person is made into a symbol.
About the Author
YA debut author Mason Stokes is a professor of English at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, New York, where he teaches African American literature and queer fiction. In addition to his scholarly writing, Stokes is the author of the adult novel Saving Julian and the personal essay "Namesake," which was selected by Jonathan Franzen for inclusion in the 2016 edition of Best American Essays.
Reviews
"Keen prose meditates on the nature of violence fueled by bigotry and its effects, making for a layered and provocative telling that will encourage readers to critically examine their own behaviors and perceptions." -Publishers Weekly, starred review
"Even though the prologue signals that tragedy lies ahead, the novel doesn't feel predictable-instead, it carries an eerie sense of dread. Ash's closeness to Shane carefully brings Shane's story into vivid focus without conveying a feeling that Ash is speaking for him...A tender fictionalization that sheds light on human complexity." -Kirkus Reviews
"Stokes has done an excellent job of incorporating real life into his fictional narrative." -Booklist
"A buoyant account of first love, made especially poignant by the brutality of what follows. All the Truth I Can Stand is riveting." - Eliot Schrefer, National Book Award Finalist
"A masterful blend of wholehearted fiction and absolutely essential American history." - Steve Sheinkin, New York Times bestselling author
"The novel connects personal identity with cultural and national concerns...Personal loss becomes entangled in the gay community's historical fight for recognition and equality in [All the Truth I Can Stand]." -Foreword Reviews
"This rivetingly beautiful young adult novel grapples deeply with tragedy and the human desire to turn suffering into a symbol. Based loosely on a fictionalized version of Matthew Shepard's murder in 1990s Wyoming, and told through the eyes of a struggling closeted teen in town, this is a gorgeously sad coming of age story that is deeply thoughtful about mythmaking and reality."-Rachel Person, Northshire Bookstore
Book Information
ISBN 9781662680885
Author Mason Stokes
Format Hardback
Page Count 288
Imprint Calkins Creek
Publisher Astra Publishing House
Details
Imprint: |
Calkins Creek |
