The Facts Speak for Themselves

by Brock Cole

When she is found standing at the bloody scene where her mother's boyfriend committed suicide and her elderly lover was murdered, thirteen-year-old Linda will have a lot of explaining to do about how things got so terribly out of hand. Reprint.

Genres: Young Adult, Banned Books, Fiction, Realistic Fiction, Teen, Novels

184 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1997

About the author

Brock Cole was born a year before the Second World War in a small town in Michigan. Because of his father's work, his family moved frequently, but he never regarded these relocations as a hardship.

"I thought of myself as something of an explorer, even though my explorations never took me very far. I had a deep and intimate acquaintance with woodlots, creeks, lakes, back streets, and alleys all over the Midwest."

He attended Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio, and received a doctorate from the University of Minnesota. After teaching philosophy for several years at the University of Wisconsin, he began writing and illustrating books for children.

"I had always wanted to write, and I loved to draw. I had small children, who were a wonderful audience. Children's books seemed a perfect fit."

His first book, The King at the Door, was published in 1979. Among his other picture books are The Winter Wren, The Giant's Toe, and Alpha and the Dirty Baby.

He now lives in Buffalo, New York, where his wife, Susan, teaches at the State University of New York. His sons both live in Athens, Georgia. Joshua teaches French history at the University of Georgia, and Tobiah is a painter and works as a waiter. Joshua is married to Kate Tremel, a potter and a teacher, and they have a little boy named Lucas.

Brock Cole's acclaimed first novel, The Goats, was published in 1987. It is set in the Michigan countryside of his childhood and captures the story of two loners' struggle for self-identity and inner strength after being made the targets of a cruel prank. In a Horn Book Magazine editorial, Anita Silvey wrote: "The Goats reaffirms my belief that children's literature is alive and thriving." Betsy Hearne, editor of The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, lauded The Goats as "one of the most important books of the decade."

In Brock Cole's second novel, Celine, sixteen-year-old Celine, a budding artist, is living with her young stepmother, only six years older than Celine herself, while her father is teaching in Europe. Celine dreams of escaping this situation, but she becomes involved with caring for Jake, her seven-year-old neighbor, who is going through his parents' divorce.

Since he began his writing career, Brock Cole and his wife have traveled a good deal, living for one year in Washington and another in Germany, as well as spending frequent summers in Greece and Turkey.

"To be honest, I simply tag along after Susan. It's her research which takes us all over the place. I enjoy it immensely, though. There's something about sitting down to work at a rickety table in a strange city that clears the head. It's the best thing for a writer, or for this one, anyway."

Reviews

[Terry · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this in one evening, unable to put down Cole's narrator, Linda. Her story is a series of disturbing events and Linda's valiant efforts to manage her impossible life. My heart ached by the end of this book, and I felt despair that the world continues to make Lindas. I've meet a number of kids who are versions of Linda, and there is so much misery in their lives. There are many excellent books about damaged kids - Frank's America, for example - and this is as strong as any of them.

Be warned: if you're looking for an upbeat message, a Chicken Soup for the Abused and Neglected Soul, this probably isn't the book for you. If you can tolerate some ambiguity and some tough questions, this is a fine book.

[Natalie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this for a children's literature class. It's well written but Brock Cole's stuff gives me the willies. =)

[Mti Librarian · Rating 3 out of 5]

I chose this book because as part of my job I get asked a ton of questions about Accelerated Reader and this book was referenced in one of the articles I read recently about the AR program. I've listed the article below if you're interested. This book is listed as having an AR reading level of 3.6, which many people will say is roughly equivalent to a 3rd or 4th grade reading level. That means that it has short words and simple sentences easy for a 3rd grader to read. The reading level doesn't tell you anything about the content level of this book. I've placed it in teen and I usually think of Brock Cole as a YA author, but the library I check it out from considers it adult, I'm guessing because of content.

Most of this book is written as a report or short journal entries by the main character, Linda, after all the events described have already taken place. Thirteen year old Linda writes while she is in police custody and then a church-run group home. It becomes obvious fairly quickly that she has some heavy duty mental problems from years of neglect by her mother and molestation by her mother's various boyfriends. Linda has struggled to keep her family together, care for her younger brothers and keep everyone fed. So it doesn't really come as a surprise when Linda begins spending time and having sex with her mother's boss. Linda says that she doesn't like doing it, but she does like the calm oasis she creates away from the squalor of her mother's life.

Read-alikes: Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott, Born Blue by Han Nolan


"Accelerated Reader: What are the lasting effects on the reading habits of middle school students exposed to Accelerated Reader in elementary grades?" by Pavonetti, Linda. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, Dec 2002, Vol 46 Issue 4, pg 300

[Maansi Surve · Rating 4 out of 5]

Before getting into my review, I'd encourage anyone interested in reading this book to read over the description as this book does touch on heavy and sensitive topics that might not be valuable to your reading experience.
--
I was surprised to see the number of reviews giving this book a low rating, and as I read them I noticed that majority of the reviews are mentioning the stylistic features of this book and how there wasn't a "happily ever after" ending. For starters, not using quotation marks is the author's stylistic choice. In my reading experience, I wasn't bothered by it. The first few pages required some extra thinking, but I soon was able to read the pages as quickly as I would a book with quotation marks. I feel that that story had a concise flow as it was mostly dialogue and descriptions of Linda's thought versus descriptions of who said what and the physical actions of characters. Additionally, I was satisfied with the ending of this story. I am not a believer in the opinion that books need to end in such a way where the character's future is perfectly laid out for the reader. It was left up for interpretation. On multiple occasions, there were chances for me as a reader to really sit and think about what Linda and the surrounding characters were going through, and I'm shocked that many ratings for this book are low simply due to the fact that the writing wasn't literal and straight forward? The artistic writing kept me engaged as a reader.

This read had me thinking about many aspects of life and exposed me to the traumatic experiences that, unfortunately, many girls go through, and how difficult it can be to speak up about them.

[William Barton · Rating 3 out of 5]

In Brock Cole’s The Facts Speak for Themselves we start with a murder, the witness of that murder is a 13 year old girl named Linda. As Linda tells her story we understand that her home life is unhealthy and she is missing necessary moments of love. She feels the need to be taken care of, not to be the caretaker, and that is where Joe Greene, an older man, comes in to play. But is that relationship any healthier then her life?

The Facts Speak for Themselves is emotionally powerful and well written, but it is also incredibly dark. I wouldn’t recommend this book to many people, there is a lot of questionable content in the novel that many people would be uncomfortable with. That being said, I do think the book was enjoyable, even though it was disturbing in some ways.

[Nicole Hartwell · Rating 2 out of 5]

Linda is a thirteen year old girl who is forced to live as an adult taking care of her two brothers because her mother is wild and reckless. She tells her story to a social worker after being taken to a center for abused children by the policemen who found her cradling her lover, who was shot by her mother’s ex-boyfriend. Jack Green convinces Linda he is in love with her after they sneak around having sex in the houses he sells in the realty business, and, yes, Jack is old enough to be Linda’s father. Linda gives a chilling account of the things she is forced to do that lead to this incident in her life.

[Kaelie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I did not enjoy this book as much as I thought I would. I kept reading it only because I thought, maybe, there would be a twist I wasn't expecting. I did not like How nothing was quoted, It made it difficult to understand, and quite oftenly I would have to stop and think. When I was done reading it I didn't feel that relief I usually do when I finish a book. Personally, I don't think her problems are solved. But it did make me stop and appriciate my life, and learn to be more thankful.

[Erin]

#54 on the ALA banned book list 2000-09

[Kaitlyn Whitten · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.75🌟

I'm incredibly conflicted about rating this book.

On one hand, it was a quick and easy read with a harrowing story about abuse and survival that I found both relatable and intense, but on the other, it has some grammatical errors, perspective issues (this is supposed to be a recounting from a 13 year old girl), and is written in a way that condemns the victim instead of the abuser.

Even just in the synopsis, Linda's rapist is called "her lover", and throughout the book she is consistently treated like an adult (not just within the neglectful and abusive relationships between characters, but also in the writing perspective pushed by the author), which I get happens with childhood trauma (which I have personally experienced and was considered an "old soul" for my age due to), especially when you are forced to raise your siblings, but even the more ethical characters don't treat her like the CHILD she is, (not young woman, there is no such thing, there is adult women or CHILD, and she is 10000%, simply put, completely factually, a child).

This book is written in a way that adultifies the character in every perspective no matter what age she is at throughout, and not simply in the way she sees herself or her neglectful mother sees her, but as the world (and author) sees her in general. But even this adultifying is a more minimal issue compared to the victim blaming and condemning of Linda throughout with everything she experiences being to her blame for some reason or another, both inside and outside of her abusive relationships. There is only one part where the sexual abuse is even called rape, and even then the abuser isn't condemned for his actions. I get that this was written at "a different time" (the book was literally published the year I was born), but even back then the legal age of consent was 16 years old (still too damn young) and not 12/13 years old. Imagine being a grown woman with a 13 year old daughter, finding out your husband is sexually abusing, manipulating, and grooming one of her "friends" of the same age, and blaming the CHILD for it, going to her apartment and telling her that she needs to stop it?! I don't care what day and age it is, that's wild. And that's only ONE of the instances where poor abused Linda is condemned for her abusers actions.

She was a child, she was abused and neglected her whole life, was sexually abused and manipulated for (what I'd guess to be) roughly a couple of years or at least several months to a year, experienced something incredibly traumatic with her stepfather killing her abuser in front of her, and then was treated fairly poorly by every person who was supposed to help her afterwards, and throughout all of this she is recounting it calmly as if she is going over it all in her 20's and out of the thick of it instead of as a child who has just experienced this. 13 year old children, even severally traumatized ones, have escalations and outbursts to which she never had, and I know the point of the book is simply to let the facts tell the story themselves, which I get as someone who experienced childhood trauma and remembers them that way, but the 'present tense' moments are not part of the factual recap and could have at least shown some type of emotion in it.

I don't know. I get the point and do believe that the story is strong and powerful, and that plain writing works with the factual concept of it, but the way Linda was conceptualized and how the story was written at points made me feel a little off and icky about it, especially with it being a male author, and maybe that is where some of the disconnect comes from, but either way it has left me quite conflicted.

If anyone has actually read this, then I apologize for the rant but hope it might have aligned with your feelings on it or given you a new perspective to consider. On to the next🤪

[Angie Fehl · Rating 2 out of 5]

POTENTIAL TRIGGER WARNING: This story involves themes of sexual abuse, pedophilia and suicide.

Thirteen year old Linda is brought in on suspicion involvement with the deaths of two men, (one a murder, one a suicide). The story is told from Linda's perspective -- via conversations with police detectives and social workers -- but her version of events and the tone it is presented in set her up as a possibly unreliable narrator.

If you're a fan of the tv program The First 48, this story has a somewhat similar feel to that. In a nutshell, Linda witnesses a scuffle between Jack Green, a co-worker of Linda's mother, and Frank Perry. Just hours later, both are dead. At first, Linda gives the impression that she is merely an innocent witness to the events, but how does she explain arriving at the police station with blood all over her clothes and under her fingernails?

Linda's personality proves to be a blend of complexity, oddness and a certain degree of unlikeablity. Even though she throws out some weird thoughts here and there, it's hard not to feel for Linda. She grows up in a home where her mother has a rotating door of boyfriends and baby-daddies (Linda's father having died when she was a baby), the house full of kids her mother largely neglects. Linda takes up the care of her younger brothers but later struggles with depression after suffering sexual abuse at the hands of her mom's boyfriend of the moment.

A small ray of hope gets infused into this bleak story when, by some strange stroke of luck, Linda's mother actually gets involved with a decent guy! A bit older than the mother's usual picks, but he proves to be a solid father-figure type in Linda's life, at least compared to what she's previously had to pick from! From this man, Linda gets lessons in money, specifically stocks & investments -- knowledge that will prove most useful in her future. But is her time with him as innocent as it first seems?

The setup of this novel, as far as the short chapters and conversation style make for a quick read. That, and the whole thing is under 200 pages. Brock Cole's writing style is engaging enough to keep one reading... I was just hoping for MORE. The plot description had potential but something about it as a whole fell a bit flat for me. There also wasn't enough meat to the writing to create much of a take-away factor for me in the end, as far as a moral message, thought-provoking social commentary, etc. NOTE: if you are a sensitive reader, this story deals with dark themes and some of the language does get rather sexually graphic. Also maybe worth noting for some readers: Cole chose not to use quotations marks. That's right, quotation marks: NONE. Something to be aware of if that is a personal peeve for you as a reader.

[Teagan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Personal Response:

The book The Facts Speak For Themselves by Brock Cole was a well written novel. I thought that Linda was a character who had changed a lot throughout the story, and the author did a good job of showing that. At first I thought that this was a book that changed points of view and tenses, which I do not enjoy in stories because it typically confuses me. This book actually just turned out to have changes in tense, but not a different character's point of view. The changes in tense were actually really easy to understand because both sides of the story were well developed and easily separated.

Plot:
This story was written in the point of view of a teenage girl named Linda. Some of the book was written as Linda talking in the present tense, and some was written as her talking in the past tense. Linda had lived a very difficult life, mainly because of her mother, whom, throughout the story seemed to be selfish. She was constantly going from guy to guy marrying and divorcing, or cheating. She was the type of person who used other people to get what she wanted and needed. Linda’s mother had three children, and she didn’t seem to care, or take very good care of them at all. Linda raised her younger siblings, and had gone through a lot of different step fathers. Some incidents with her stepfathers weren’t good. That had included being left in Florida to take care of a man with dementia on her own while her mom drove off to find a new boyfriend. Linda’s lifestyle had made her the strong person the book portrayed her as.

Characterization:
Linda, her entire young life had been exposed to things that many of us don’t have to deal with ever. She was very independent throughout all of the story, but really showed her independence when her mom left for months, and she had to fend for herself. Linda had to be a caretaker, and still take care of herself, at a young age. Linda moved around a lot and had to be strong through all of the changes. People took advantage of her naive-ness and her curiously had gotten the best of her often. Linda became a more caring and knowledgeable person by the end of the book.

Recommendation:
I recommend this book to anyone in high school or older. I believe that some of the content may be too mature for any younger of an audience. I also think that the words aren’t really that high of a vocabulary, so most high school students should be able to read it easily. I think that both genders can relate to the hard work and independence that Linda had shown as well.

[Chloe Tang · Rating 4 out of 5]

What happens when the truth is too painful to share, but staying silent feels even worse? This book, The Facts Speak for Themselves by Brock Cole, follows Linda, who is a 14-year-old girl whose life is shaped by poverty, neglect, and being surrounded by adults who have failed her. This book is told through the conversations she has with a social worker, where Linda recounts her experiences with honesty and hesitation, which forces readers to piece together what really happened.

Brock Cole's writing is raw and emotional, which it gives Linda a voice that feels heartbreaking. She isn't a perfect narrator, for example, she hides things, gets angry, and resists pity. This all makes her have raw emotion and believable. The book's strength lies in how it shows trauma without exaggeration. Every scene feels grounded in truth, even when it's uncomfortable to read. The short chapters and broken timeline reflect how memory works in a person especially when they are in a great sense of pain.

One weakness is that the story feels heavy and slow, where some chapters can feel like filler. But this also makes it powerful because it doesn't try to fix what can't be easily fixed. It focuses on and emphasizes survival and courage to speak up about hardships.

Overall, This book, The Facts Speak for Themselves by Brock Cole, is an emotional, realistic, and raw book about finding your voice when it seems and feels like no one is listening. I would recommend this book for mature teens and readers who struggle with what Linda struggles with, and who have hardships in speaking for themselves.

[Kim B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, THAT was fun. *curls into a ball and stares into space*

As I said in my initial status update on the book, it's sort of like an Adam Rapp novel without the sort of sensationalism that's usually in an Adam Rapp novel―I was actually amazed at the restraint on display here. It's a short read but honestly incredibly bleak, and against all odds the voice of this complex thirteen-year-old kid who has endured more than anyone should have to never feels forced. It's not hard to see why it's fallen out of print (I can't really imagine a ton of teen readers seeking it out these days even though I definitely think it has an audience), but considering it was a National Book Award nominee I feel like it should at least be available as an eBook.

[Haleigh · Rating 1 out of 5]

I thought this book was okay. It was awkwardly written. Although you can in part contribute that to the author trying to write convincingly as a thirteen-year-old girl, I think it was much worse than necessary. Many parts of it seemed choppy, which was certainly annoying, but the biggest problem was the incoherence. It was very unclear who was speaking when, and the story jumped around with no clear indication of what was going on. Even if it the action and dialogue were clearer, the plot of the story was still as thoroughly mediocre as the writing. Although the book involved abuse, pedophilia, suicide, and murder, it still managed to be incredibly boring.

[Mckenna Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

“There are a lot of people who aren’t worth anything. They just break things up. If I had to choose between saving those people and a single solitary spotted owl, I would not hesitate. People are much more likely to be worthless than any other animal. I know that is disloyal to say, but it’s the truth, and we might as well face it.”

[Gregory Jacks · Rating 3 out of 5]

This would be hard to classify ...
I suppose the book is well written, but I also think that a large part of its intrigue is the manner by which the story is told.
Suffice to say that it will probably not linger for long.

[Jamey Herdelin]

I read this book in 2002 and it still resonates in my soul. It is about abuse, not an emotionally easy book to read. The author uses free form writing so the lack of " " shows the protagonist's emotional void. " " are used as she speaks, the facts speak for themselves.

[Alejandro Vallejo · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.6⭐️
I thought this book was realistically sad but the author’s writing style failed to deliver certain emotions.The whole book felt very monotone & needed to be longer but somehow it also felt too long. I don’t know if that made sense but it makes sense to me lol

[Sheila TC · Rating 3 out of 5]

Should be 3.5 stars. Interesting, but I don't think right for my middle schoolers.

[Sophie · Rating 4 out of 5]

the most beautiful book ive ever read

[Clariana · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not a fan of the writer’s style it confused me. However I will say that the book desveles into deep topics and was really heavy. Overall just not for me🫤

[Rachel Mortenson · Rating 4 out of 5]

well written. the story grabs hold of you and doesn’t let go until you finish it.

[Shel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cole, B. (1997). the facts speak for themselves. New York: Puffin Books.

184 pages.

Appetizer: Thirteen-year-old Linda was escorted into the police interrogation room with blood still under her nails. After being interrogated about the deaths of two men (a murder-suicide situation between the boyfriend and boss of her mother that Linda is somehow at the center of), Linda is separated from her little brothers and mother, who need her to watch over them, to stay at a center run by nuns.

She has meetings with a social worker to discuss her childhood of abuse, discrimination, abandonment and responsibility over her brothers.

Linda's story is touching, heartbreaking and the amount of responsibility she took on at such a young age is shocking.

This can be a wonderful book to give voice to the secret pains and dark scars that many children and adults have.

Although, as I was reading, I did wish that quotation marks were used to better mark dialogue.

This book may be dark, but it is also real...and difficult to put down after you start reading. (I know that if it were a movie, I'd hate it. It's kind of like Requiem for a Dream. You just know things are going to get worse and worse.)


Dinner Conversation:

"The woman policeman says why don't you come in here, and so I went. It was a little room with a table and some chairs. That was all. Instead of a window, there was a big mirror. I wouldn't look at that. I didn't want to see myself. I sad down and folded my hands. There was still blood under my nails, so after a minute I put them under the table" (p. 9).

"Listen, young lady, Sister says. You're not in charge anymore. This is a difficult situation, and it's going to take a little time to straighten out. Two men are dead, she says and bites her lip.
What two men?
Mr. Green and Mr. Perry.
That was how I found out. Jack had died in the ambulance and Frank had walked down into the basement of the parking ram and shot himself" (p. 20).

"I gave her the facts, and she wrote them up in a preliminary report. I know, because I got it out of her bag when she came back one afternoon to warn me about what was going to happen.
There's going to be a hearing, she says, and I want you to be as straight with the judge as you are with me" (p. 23).

"I want to write my own preliminary report, I said.
She looked at me a long time.
I think that's a very good idea, she says finally.
Will they read it?
Yes, she says. I'll make sure they do" (p. 25).

"Looked at in a certain way, the whole history of the world seemed arranged so we could meet that first time.
He said we were doomed by circumstance. Our fate was in the facts" (p. 141).

[Jess · Rating 5 out of 5]

Title: The Facts Speak for Themselves

Author: Brock Cole

Rate: A



Synopsis

She lived a life with satisfaction and compulsive decision. She was young, sweet and innocent outside but tough and critical thinker inside. Her bitter-sweet life molded her perspective and judgement with people. She's curious like a leaf carried by the wind , circling in the vicinity of the unknown world. She committed a mistake, she knows it ,she said it all.. She don't care about what people think about her. All she know is.. It's not her fault. Her name is Linda.



Review

How will i describe and tackle Brock Cole Masterpiece "The Facts speak for themselves" . how will i paraphrase the ideas in my mind when this book made it so hard to fix the truthfulness of a unfix-able things. This was the first book that made me think of this questions "Why did the author wrote this, without a subjective reason, and closure?"

This book speaks minimal in words but full of pain,wisdom and emotion. No matter how disturbing the character was, It compliments a lot. Cole used Linda to nestled the innocent and curious character in one novel. It did work brilliantly. Though in the end part it was not written with conviction, yet it was just smartly disclose by facts.

The first time i bought this books it made me wish that i hope this book will make me feel different. And it did,surprisingly big time! Every time i read this my subconscious mind travel around with Linda.It Feels like, she is me at one point, and sometimes i am the one who she's talking to.

Not all authors has a courage and idea to create a novel as sensitive as this, The last time i read this kind of novel made my heart cries in pain and loneliness and i commend the book and author for that, It was brilliant ("Slammerkin" by Emma Donoghue) .

Now after reading "The facts speak for themselves" by Brock Cole, all i can say is cheers to this authors who can write things that is worth reading. For the second time around my brain nerves was challenge by provocative style of writing and perspective.

[Diana · Rating 5 out of 5]

I agree with the other readers on Goodreads. From what I read in the book this seems accurate for teens. It gives an insight look on the life of a teenage girl that doesn't always have it so happy. I saw that other people on this app said that she is put in life as an adult and has to face obstacles that no other teen would. Others say that she doesn't have it so easy and she tells a story from her perspective that probably others wouldn't expect coming from a teenagers mouth. She has to take care of her brothers all by her own and be separated from her family. It's amazing to see what others think about the book. It lets us know that not everyone thinks the same and that there are a lot of different perspectives.
The type of reader that would most likely enjoy this book are readers that love to feel deep emotion and get a lesson out of it. This book goes through so many phases such as abuse, discrimination, abandonment, and a lot of responsibility. A lesson can surely be taught of this as to always do your best and never give up. Once given up its harder to get back on track and be same again. Reading this book will get readers feeling like they are Linda at points. It seems like a journal because it feels like she is talking to the reader directly. This book will get you thinking about your own life and how you should grateful that your happy and going through positive things.
The connection and the favorites are good insights to use in this review. I said I could connect with her through the hard times when you think your life has fallen and there's no going back cause there's no point. My favorites were some quotes that I thought were inspiring and could be used in the future. I feel like I could have gone more in depth with my updates so I can let out my emotions. I am not the type of person that would normally like to let her feelings out because I like to keep it all to myself. Letting my feelings out its like bringing the world more closer to you and causing even more problems than before and making it harder to solve.

[Kachina · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a quick read, an easy read, and a compelling read. It's written in the form of the journal of an adolescent girl who is described as having "Low-average intelligence." The voice is pitch-perfect throughout. Linda plows her way through her unconventional childhood, unpleasant event by unpleasant event. She faces her own troubles -- from discrimination and psychological trauma to physical neglect to sexual abuse -- in a matter-of-fact way that is almost chilling, but at the same time utterly realistic. In spite of all the awful things she goes through, Linda is a survivor. She's going to get through and be okay.

The characters in the book are well-rounded and genuine. The situations, while brutal and extreme, ring true. When reading you really get sucked into Linda's rough world and believe in it whole-heartedly. Because of this it may be hard for younger kids to handle, unless they are quite mature, but it is definitely a good read for older teens or adults looking for insight into troubled family life. This book raises many questions without easy answers and would lead to a good group discussion.

[Bonnie Smith]

I will begin with rating this book -5 ⭐s! I was going to start with, "This is the worst book read of the year", but , "Worst book ever!", is much more fitting!
This book is clearly fiction and with that stated, I believe the author has never been molested but could easily be a molester. The book did not disturb me as much as the praise given it.
Yes it deals with issues that effects childhood development and therefore rooted in some truths but not the majority of it. I feel like the authors biggest thrill was to keep baiting us with Linda being sexually abused or on the verge of being...over and over! To me, it turned out to be junk writing and genuinely awful. I will not recommend this book nor will I ever offer this book for sale. can't

For some reason the phrase, "Turn your frown upside down", keeps coming to mind...along with "A child walking a straight line", BUT in this case, my mind immediately goes to a zip line so that Linda can carry a huge backpack (home on wheels), and proceed with tackling life and every black cloud that comes her way. I would rename this book, "The Zip Line Effect"!

[Greg Medina · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book "The Facts Speak For Themselves" By Brock Cole was not my favorite book whatsoever-- it wasn't even close."The Facts Speak For Themselves" was a realistic fiction book about a 13 year old girl named Linda, who starts to go through problems a 13 year old should'nt go through. The book starts off Linda getting interigated by the police because she witnessed a murder right in front of her face. She was talking to Mr.Green in a parking lot when a guy named Frank Perry came along and shoot Mr.Green, then later kills himself. Linda's mom could'nt be found at all so they sent Linda to this Relgious Childrens center ran by Nuns. Linda was disrespectful in the begining but then she starts adapting and getting friends in stuff, but through that process more and more Drama unfolds within the book. This the type of book that hooks you in the begining and your just not as happy with the book in the end. One thing is disliked most in the book was the way Linda was acting, like you would honestly just call her stupid hands down, But i guess thats what makes her character.

[Sarah Mae · Rating 2 out of 5]

Plot Summary: When 13 year old Linda is involved in a murder-suicide, she is taken from her family and sent to a group home. While there, she tells her story to her social worker.

Evaluation of Reader Appeal: This book deals with hard issues of sexual abuse, neglect, poverty, and violence in a detached way. The reader is drawn into Linda's world as she relates her life story. The book helps the reader to understand why Linda is the way she is.

Evaluation of Literary Merit: I do not know if I like this book or not. The detached first person narration is very effective at showing Linda's emotional problems. By dealing with the issues in such a detached manner, the book made me kind of numb and I do not really think that is the best reaction to these kinds of issues. If the author's intent is to show that these actions are more commonplace than we think, then the book is very successful. The style also realistically portrays the effect that abuse can have on children.

[Sandra Alonzo · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was recommended to me by a person who's critiquing my most recent YA novel, so I purchased the kindle version for that reason. I was mainly looking at the way Brock Cole fits his backstory into the present voice, which was skillfully done in THE FACTS SPEAK FOR THEMSELVES. The voice was excellent, though perhaps a bit young sounding for today's thirteen year old girl. However, the novel isn't super recent, so that might explain this issue. Also, for a sexually abused main character, Linda never did address the severe trauma she's experienced. Maybe this is the point Mr. Cole is making, however, that in cases like hers, non-reaction might be considered normal in teens who lead completely 'abnormal' lives. Definitely worth a read, if you like EDGY young adult fiction. (It should be required reading for social workers who interact with kids.)