Give Me Some Truth 12+

About this book

Carson Mastick is entering his senior year of high school and desperate to make his mark, on the reservation and off.

A rock band — and winning the local Battle of the Bands, with its first prize of a trip to New York City — is his best shot. But things keep getting in the way. Small matters like the lack of an actual band, or the fact that his brother just got shot confronting the racist owner of a local restaurant.

Maggi Bokoni has just moved back to the reservation from the city with her family. She's dying to stop making the same traditional artwork her family sells to tourists (conceptual stuff is cooler), stop feeling out of place in her new (old) home, and stop being treated like a child. She might like to fall in love for the first time too.

Carson and Maggi — along with their friend Lewis — will navigate loud protests, even louder music, and first love in this stirring novel about coming together in a world defined by difference.

Reviews

Awards and Praise for Give Me Some Truth:

NPR Best Books of the Year

Boston Globe Best Books of the Year

School Library Journal Best Books of the Year

Chicago Public Library Best Books of the Year

* "Gansworth's follow-up to If I Ever Get Out of Here has an incredible voice.... His characters are rich, well developed, and will stay with readers for a long time.... A stellar choice for YA realistic fiction shelves." -- School Library Journal, starred review

"Gansworth vividly captures the difficulties of reservation life and showcases his thoughtful protagonists' multidimensional interests and far-reaching aspirations." --Publishers Weekly

"An intimate look at the teens' lives.... A rich, honest story of family and friends, of a Nation within a nation." -- The Horn Book

"An achingly real and honest look into the lives of teenagers pushed to the margins, creating and loving against life's headwinds. Sometimes hilarious, sometimes heartbreaking, always heartfelt." -- Jeff Zentner, author of The Serpent King and Goodbye Days

"From the first pages of If I Ever Get Out of Here, Dog Street was as alive to me as my own street and the people were as alive as my own. And when I finished, Dog Street sustained itself in my head as an ongoing place. I was so happy to have more time in a world that has become so alive to me. This book, Give Me Some Truth, teleported me in. I know I read it too fast. But it was like seeing the cousins you love at the picnic, how you just run to them. How you just want to hear everything." -- Lynda Barry, author of The Good Times Are Killing Me and One! Hundred! Demons!

"A stunning and powerful story about kids on the edge and what it means to break free of tradition and expectations. This book should be on every high school reading list." -- Kathleen Glasgow, New York Times bestselling author of Girl in Pieces

"A classic teen novel." -- Kirkus Reviews

Praise for If I Ever Get Out of Here:

A YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults selection

An American Indian Library Association's Youth Literature Award, Young Adult Honor

A Junior Library Guild selection

A Cooperative Children's Book Center Choices pick

A International Reading Association's Notable Book for a Global Society

A Notable Trade Books for Young People pick, National Council for Social Studies

A Horn Book Summer Reading List pick

National Book Festival appearance

"[A] funny, poignant young-adult debut." -- Washington Post

"Eric Gansworth fearlessly lays down the truth about what it's like to grow up poor, and the strength it takes to hold your head high and find a way out." -- Laurie Halse Anderson, author of The Impossible Knife of Memory and Forge

* "Gansworth, himself an enrolled member of the Onondaga Nation, explores the boys' organic relationship with generosity and tenderness and unflinching clarity, sidestepping stereotypes to offer two genuine characters navigating the unlikely intersection of two fully realized worlds... And although Gansworth manages the weighty themes of racism and poverty with nuance and finesse, at its heart, this is a rare and freehearted portrait of true friendship." -- Booklist, starred review

"If I Ever Get Out of Here rings true with a sophisticated look at what it's like to be an outsider and what it takes to be a true friend... More than just engaging, [it] is the sort of book that can spark all kinds of meaningful conversation." -- Los Angeles Times

"Readers will appreciate the teenager's sharp insights into being an outsider and Gansworth's intimate knowledge of the prejudices and injustices inherent to Lewis's life." -- Publishers Weekly

"A heart-healing, mocs-on-the-ground story of music, family and friendship." -- Cynthia Leitich Smith, author of Tantalize and Rain Is Not My Indian Name