YA: Jenna’s Truth

• Author:  N.L. King
• Title: Jenna’s Truth
• Published: 2016
• List Reading Challenges 2018
  
• Monthly reading planning

Strong point:

1. Ms King expresses the emotions of a young girl
2. that feel universal…timeless. We all at one point
3. have felt being an outsider in school….it hurts.

Strong point:

1. The devil is in the details.…and Ms King knows that!
2. I rarely read in stories about women’s perfume.
3. People I remember from school had signature fragrances.
4. It was your ‘calling card’… L’Air du Temps, Blue Grass, Miss Dior.
5. Jenna can finally sit next to Tina
6. ….the in-crowd… and whiff her perfume.

Strong point:

1. Ms. Nadia has translated a tragic story of Amanda Todd
2. into a poignant book.
3. The book is enriched with teaching notes and
4. discussion questions.
5. Sometimes young people don’t know how
6. tell people they are being bullied.
7. Ms. King has added a ‘need help’ page with
8. addresses and phone numbers children can call.

Conclusion:

1. Here I am a 60+’er reading about the
2. pain of being an outsider (Jenna)  in high-school.
3. Ms King describes  details that  STILL resonate
4. …taking me back to the 1960’s.
5. It seems then and now
6. ….the feeling when someone saves
7. you a seat in class is  “like basking in the sun” !
8. And yes, I agree with Ms King and her character Jenna
9. “Physics never made any sense.“
10. Of course Insta page, selfies and Snapchat are new
11. …but that just adds to the 21st C feel of the book.
12. This book deserves the praise it has reaped.
13. Young girls should be aware…
14. There is so much more to life
15. …being snubbed or bad-mouthed,
    
16. and worst of all cyber-bullying by puerile girls.
17. #Heartbreaking

Last thoughts:

1. I’ll tell you a two secrets….
2. I had this book flown in from Australia!
3. I read the book aloud to my cats.
4. It was great fun and I could put on my snarky voice.
5. But this does not dampen
6. …the effect the book had on me.
7. So young, so unhappy with life
8. ….so tragic, I can hardly imagine
9. …the pain Jenna/Amanda Todd went through.
10. #Cyberbulling must stop.