A double-hitter! The Whole Truth (HarperCollins Canada) by Kit Pearson wins the Ruth & Sylvia Schwartz Children’s Book Award, having already won the Canadian Library Association’s Book of the Year Award for 2012.
In 1932, after the drowning death of their father, nine-year-old Polly and her older sister Maud travel from Winnipeg to Kingfisher Island off the coast of British Columbia to begin a new life with their grandmother. After Maud leaves for boarding school, Polly is left on her own to adjust to island life, unknown relatives, and the burden of keeping a shocking family secret. When the secret is revealed, will it destroy their fragile happiness? Mystery, complex characters, and finely crafted prose conveying the rhythms of Depression-era island life make this intriguing novel one to remember!
The grade 8 Student Jurors for the Ruth & Sylvia Schwartz Children’s Book Award said the following :
“The characters were so believable – it felt like you were stepping back in time. [I] fell in love with it within the first few pages.”
Here’s what the CLA had to say:
“Kit Pearson’s superbly crafted story introduces readers to a moral dilemma that has no easy answer… Kit Pearson convincingly explores the realities of life in the Depression era, complex family dynamics, and ultimately, the healing power of forgiveness.”