How to Tell a True Story
(for ages 10 and up)
By Tricia Springstubb
Margaret Ferguson Books, Holiday House

 

 

 

 

Coming April 1, 2025. Available for preorder now.
Available in hardcover.
Available in e-book.

Available at:

IndieBound  
Mac's Backs
Barnes & Noble
Amazon
Bookshop.org
 

A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard selection

How far would you go to protect the ones you love? When Amber's family suffers a devastating fire, she uncovers a secret that threatens them all. A suspenseful story about the slippery nature of truth.

Reviews:

Amber Price’s older brother, Gage, saved her life. That’s how the story goes. When Amber is trapped inside her family’s burning home, it’s Gage who struggles through the smoke to rescue her, suffering serious burns in the process. The devastating fire becomes a story their entire town can’t stop talking about: Gage is a hero, Amber is suddenly popular, and friends and neighbors want to honor the Price family at a special event. But Amber holds a few secret truths from the night of the fire that aren’t part of the official story—and even she doesn’t know everything. In emotionally authentic prose, Tricia Springstubb asks readers to consider complex questions of love, loyalty, and what it means to tell the truth. – LitHub

A page-turner that will keep you guessing until the very end. Loyalty, truth, secrets, family...what matters most? Springstubb's realistic characters will draw you into their lives as they face these hard choices. A masterfully-written book, with a voice reminiscent of Judy Blume. – Shelley Pearsall, author of The Seventh Most Important Thing

Messages of care and empathy permeate the work. “Kindness is a gift…Everybody deserves it, no matter what.” A sincere and humane narrative that probes human complexity. – Kirkus 

Short chapters allow readers to contemplate each action and reaction...From middle-school angst to big moral questions, this fast-moving story covers much territory without crowding the narrative. – The Horn Book

A quietly suspenseful exploration of morality; particularly compelling is perceptive Amber’s questioning of truth and loyalty as both family and friendship dynamics unravel around her. – PW

Amber and her friends are portrayed realistically as teens with typical cliques, social anxieties, and dynamics of middle school groups. Her family is well defined and instantly relatable. The theme that everyone deserves kindness is not heavy-handed but develops through the ­interactions of students, ­family, and teachers, reminding readers that ­everyone ­carries their own unseen struggles. VERDICT ­ Engaging characters convey kindness, loyalty, and the price of honesty in this relatable portrayal of school and family life. – School Library Journal

PODCAST
A Conversation with Tricia Springstubb
Show: Reading in The Middle