Open secrets are the heart of gossip -- the obvious things that no one is brave or tactless enough to ask. Except for Normandy Pale and her friends. They are juniors at a high school for artistsl, and have no fear. They are the Truth Commission. Then, one of their truth targets says to Normandy: “If you want to know about the truth, you might want to look a little closer to home.” This dryly funny, knife-sharp novel, written as "narrative nonfiction" by Normandy herself, features footnotes, illustrations and a combination mystery/love story that will capture readers from the frst page.
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To Tell You the Truth, I LOVED It
By P. Coccia
It has been three years since Susan Juby has published a young adult novel after writing her memoir (“Nice Recovery”) and two adult novels (“The Woefield Poultry Collective” (Canadian title)/”Home to Woefield” (US title) and its sequel “Republic of Dirt”). The return to young adult fiction and receiving a second novel published in 2015 from Susan Juby can only be considered a triumph and the canon of young adult writing is stronger for “The Truth Commission”.“The Truth Commission” is from Normandy ‘Norm’ Pale’s point of view and is told in epistolary form (like Susan’s “Alice, I Think” series) in a series of comedic journal entries.Normandy is writing an account of her and her friend’s project of a Truth Commission for her creative writing class’ final project. Normandy and her best friends Dusk and Neil confront those within their school, Greener Pastures (an art school in Nanaimo), with truths that would generally not be addressed directly or would be assumed or gossiped about. For example, did a fellow student have plastic surgery? Riding on the high of sharing truths and the bond that creates, the project becomes a school-wide revolution of truth asking and revealing.At the same time, Normandy is grappling with her family’s life that revolves around her sister’s prodigal artistic talent. Keira Pale has always been seen as a prodigy and treated as such especially after the publication of her graphic novel series which has exposed the privacy of her family members and forced Normandy into a peripheral and unflattering fame. Keira returns to the Pale household mysteriously from college and is disappearing for days at a time after admitting to Normandy that something happened between Keira and a teacher. Tension mounts as Normandy is stuck both having had her truths revealed, asking others to reveal theirs and keeping her sister’s secrets.Despite the potential overwhelming seriousness of the subject matter, Susan Juby’s novel is laugh-out-loud funny especially as Normandy and her friends’ truth revealing incites unexpected results (such as a feminist riot). Where other writers may have been quite heavy handed in dealing with the subject of the truth and how that intersects with things such as art, appropriation, self-expression and creativity, revealing and concealing, Susan Juby does so in a gentle way that allows the reader to raise and ponder these questions on their own. I can see this novel encouraging a lot of discussion on these issues and this novel being a success for book clubs or within schools and libraries. The question of who has the right to tell certain truths could be examined and batted back and forth for an entire meeting! One of the strengths of this book though is that Susan doesn’t force these intersections but respects that they occur.Susan’s skill in this genre is clear. Normandy is self-conscious and walks a fine line between her own awareness and lack of self-awareness which enables comedy to flower. Susan Juby has used this novel to showcase some features successful in her other novels such as the epistolary style mentioned above or the mystery elements of “Getting the Girl.” I was excited to get to know Normandy and despite having sat down initially for a chapter or so, ended up reading several chapters in one sitting. I was not upset at having sat and read for much longer than I intended and only regretted it was too late to finish the novel. Best of all, upon finishing the novel I discovered a second book set at Greener Pastures is in the works so there is more to look forward to. “The Truth Commission” ended up to me like discovering a new bakery and coming home with a box of treats, each bite more delicious than the last. Finding out there is another novel coming in the same setting is like finishing that box of sweets and planning my next visit with my sights set on my favourites from my first visit and optimism for new and equally as good sweets the second time around.I have already and will be recommending if not gifting this book to friends, family, librarians, teachers and those involved with book clubs. It is enjoyable, funny, thought-provoking and compelling to read.
