True Believer (Wolff novel)

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True Believer
True Believer (novel).jpg
First edition
Author Virginia Euwer Wolff
Language English
Genre Verse novel
Published 2001 by Atheneum Books
Publication placeUnited States
Media typePrint
Pages264 pp
Awards2001 National Book Award for Young People's Literature
2002 Michael L. Printz Honor book
ISBN 978-0-6898-2827-0
OCLC 44578822
LC Class PZ7.5.W65
Preceded by Make Lemonade  
Followed byThis Full House 

True Believer is a verse novel for young adults, written by Virginia Euwer Wolff and published by Atheneum Books in 2001. [1] [2] It has been published as an audiobook read by Heather Alicia Simms, and translated into Chinese, German, Italian, and Japanese. [3] It won the U.S. National Book Award for Young People's Literature [4] and was named a Michael L. Printz Honor book.

Contents

A review in Publishers Weekly observed that Wolff writes with "delicacy and sensitivity". [5]

Plot summary

Characters

Reception and themes

According to an interview with Horn Book Magazine, Wolff never identified the race of the characters purposefully, because she wanted readers to have their own views of them. [6]

Horn Book Magazine mentioned the theme of romantic feeling that can take over everyday life. Roger Sutton, the reviewer, said that "LaVaughn's portrayal of her life at school and home becomes shaped by her feelings for Jody." [6] Publishers Weekly summarized the overall theme as "one of the pivotal issues of puberty": abstinence. [7]

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References

  1. Alexander, Joy (September 2005). "The Verse-novel: A New Genre". Children's Literature in Education. 36 (3). Springer: 269–283. doi:10.1007/s10583-005-5974-z. S2CID   144985781.
  2. Wolff, Virginia Euwer (February 2001). True Believer. ISBN   0689828276.
  3. "True Believer". WorldCat. Retrieved 2016-04-08.
  4. "National Book Awards – 2001". National Book Foundation. Retrieved 2012-01-26.
    (With acceptance speech by Wolff.)
  5. "True Believer". Publishers Weekly . February 1, 2001. Retrieved 2011-03-18.
  6. 1 2 Sutton, Roger (Jan–Feb 2001). "True Believer". The Horn Book Magazine. 77 (1): 98–99. Archived from the original on April 24, 2011. Retrieved 2011-03-10.
  7. "True Believer. Book Review". Publishers Weekly. 247 (51): 79. 18 December 2000. Archived from the original on 1 February 2016. Retrieved 2011-03-10.