True

by Karl Taro Greenfeld

Karl Taro Greenfeld, acclaimed author of Triburbia and Boy Alone, offers a literary coming-of-age novel that deftly and unflinchingly imagines a world where an angry teenage girl discovers the nature of the bigger game of life and what it really means to be a team player, a sister, a daughter, and a born survivor.

True has a singular path: to be the greatest soccer player of her generation. But to realize her dream, she'll need to make the Under-17 National Team, then the Residency Program, and the ultimate: the US Women's National Team. Otherwise she can say goodbye to the Women's World Cup. And True will do whatever it takes to be the top girl on the field.

True has to stay focused because her family is crumbling. With the loss of her mother, True is forced to take care of her autistic younger sister while her grieving father wastes his time gambling. And high school isn't much better. While True's teammates are getting taller and growing up, she's hardening around the edges, at a loss for what it means to be a typical teen girl. But when she's in the game, the anxieties of family and fitting in just fade away. True—with her soft feet and deft first touch—can knock anyone off the ball. And more importantly, she can throw an elbow harder than anybody else. On the pitch, she's a soccer player first, a sister second. On the pitch, she's free.

Genres: Fiction, Young Adult, Sports, Contemporary, Family, Literary Fiction, Ebooks

217 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 1, 2018

About the author

I'm the author of six books, including the recent novel Triburbia, the story collection NowTrends, the memoir Boy Alone and the Japanese youth culture collection Speed Tribes

Reviews

[Don Gerstein · Rating 5 out of 5]

True puts everything she has into soccer – her heart, her soul, or when necessary, the side of her cleat on another girl’s shin or ankle. She justifies the way she thinks because why shouldn’t she be hard on the world when she treats herself similarly. She applies this logic not only to the game but to every facet of her life.

Although a phenom on the soccer field, True is at best a second-rate bench sitter when it comes to reality. She dabbles in creations of what she believes other people want to hear, consoling herself with the fact that she continues to excel at her chosen craft. Even at the beginning of the story, one begins to question how long this seemingly idyllic world can last.

This is usually not the type of story I read, but I took a chance because the story sounded like it might be interesting. True talked throughout the book like we were best friends sitting on neighboring couch cushions, sharing her innermost thoughts of how life’s events have impacted her. Though True may make wrong decisions, it’s easy to understand why once you know her and easier to hope and cheer that something good will happen to her and change her life. Author Karl Taro Greenfeld does an excellent job of never allowing the quiet tension to slack at any time.

Overall, excellent read, one that I finished in an evening of reading. Five stars.

[PinkAmy loves books, cats and naps · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF

Wrong genre. Wrong format. Wrong writer. Just wrong. Whoever thought this middle aged man should write a literary fiction book about a teenage girl chose wrong. I did too. This was my free Amazon Prime monthly book. If I had been able to read an article excerpt, I never would have chosen it.

[Brian · Rating 1 out of 5]

I am definitely not the target audience

This book starts great and had me hooked...but I guess I just don't appreciate soccer\sports enough to want to read about its intricacies and minutia and repetitive scrimmage or game maneuvers over and over and over. The story gets bogged down and, when it does insert new plots, it feels contrived and maybe high school writing level? (side note: I am not a fan of needing to develop the strength of a newly-introduced character via spontaneous bar fights). When all is said and done the heroine you have tried to understand fails to actually mature or grow at all, and you're left wondering why you went on this tiresome journey if you weren't really going anywhere...?

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gorgeous.

[Debra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yes. The subject is traumatically horrendous, but I am appalled by the parenting (or lack thereof). I am not appalled by the female soccer conglomerate. Soccer is all Trudy had and thank goodness she had that. Her soccer coaches, while they had to consider team dynamics, really did have her best interest at heart.

I'm a little confused by some of the review comments. I read this book in one day easily and could have taken in more. I'm not sure I would categorize it as a YA novel.

(I knew nothing about soccer but was able to keep up with True's descriptions and obsession.)

[Walkerzoo · Rating 2 out of 5]

Free amazon editor’s pick. Unless it is very well written, I am not a fan of books about teenagers making stupid decisions.

[EricS_E1 · Rating 4 out of 5]

True is one of those books that just are too brutal and, well, True. True is a soccer player striving to star in the national team while dealing with an autistic sister and anger issues. The portrayal of the world seems bright and happy on the surface, but after peeling apart the layer, it reveals grim truths about us - that we as humans are selfish and weak, unable to follow our dreams or let go of those that we care about. I'll recommend this to more mature audiences and place this in "new adult" rather than "young adult".

[Kristina · Rating 4 out of 5]

The writing overall is good. There is a point toward the end where the voice that had been steady throughout the book changed. Maybe the author was ready to be done with the book? It is a good story though not a happy story...much as with reality, the story has moments of glory and moments of sorrow...and everything in between.

[Todd · Rating 3 out of 5]

I struggled with how many stars to give True. The author has provided True with a very compelling voice, and it was hard to put the book down. Yet, in the end, I'm not convinced that the voice was accurate. At many points, True seems to have a fair amount of insight, yet her actions fail to mirror that.
An additional issue I have is that virtually every top level female player I've met (and that's a good number) has experienced some level of inappropriate attention from the male coaches and assistant coaches and managers around them. Every player. This was not reflected in the novel.
On the other hand, the soccer scenes, and the "your life is all soccer, all the time" did seem very accurate.
So take it for what it's worth. If you enjoy soccer, you'll likely enjoy this book... despite the flaws.

[Katie Sumner · Rating 1 out of 5]

Depressing as hell. A realI disappointment. Painful which totally eiliminates any enjoyment of reading . I'm doubly angry about it because I also sent it as a gift to my soccer talented daughter in law. I'm chagrined and embarrassed.

The book held real promise in the first chapter, with its clear descriptions of the toll of playing on the protagonist. , which is why I bought it. Several chapters in showed dull repetition of defeat after defeat with no new plot development . This is one book that you can't tell by its lovely cover and catchy title, and it most definitely is not appropriate for young adults, as it was labeled to be, due to sexual content.

[Ryanne Rhude · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

huh. i picked this book up randomly from kindle unlimited and it happened to be about women’s soccer?

i didn’t know it but i needed this book but i did. it’s awesome. it’s a perfect read for a soccer player that understand what it’s like to miss the sport. also for a soccer player that knows the game, not just being good at it, but knows it.

the use of real players is awesome combined with fictional players. i love how Trudy was so real. her story is what real life feels like. the struggles

marking it down a little for the blandness of the ending but i really liked this. great random kindle unlimited choice by me ig.

[Dena Crook · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kept reading hoping for redeeming ending but no dice

[Vivian · Rating 5 out of 5]

From my editor's letter:

True is angry. She’s angry that her mother died giving birth to True’s autistic sister. She’s angry her grieving father spends his days gambling. She’s angry that even though she is in high school, she has to pay the bills, clean the house, and take care of her sister. And despite being the best girl vying for a spot on the US national soccer team and a chance to compete in the 1999 World Cup alongside Mia Hamm and Brandi Chastain, True is angry that she is the only girl being singled out for her anger issues.

When I first read True by Karl Taro Greenfeld, I was taken aback by how brilliantly complicated and nuanced these characters are. True, the novel and the antihero, is biting, poetic, and painful. The whole time, I flipped each page, asking myself whether True will make the national team or if her anger will get the better of her. Will True find the freedom she craves, or will she be dragged down by her outsized responsibilities at home? Will she be able to protect her sister from a world desperate to take advantage—or will she destroy herself trying?

True is heart-stopping and unwavering in its depictions of a young warrior who pushes the boundaries of what it means to be a daughter, sister, and teammate. I am so excited to bring forth this breath of refreshing air to the coming-of-age canon, and I hope you will enjoy it too.

[Lindsay Zombek · Rating 4 out of 5]

DISCLOSURE: Received this book as part of a GoodReads Giveaway.

I almost selected this book when it was an Amazon free book of the month, but ended up going in a different direction, because I have zero interest in soccer and thought there was a good chance I would not get into this book. I was mistaken. While soccer is important to the story, the book is really about a teen who has the talent to be a GOAT in soccer but has two major obstacles to overcome: her family life and herself. True is from a family crippled by the death of a parent, a severely disabled child, and low socioeconomic status. True struggles to fit in at school and on the field and tries to be everything she thinks others expect in order to continue with her passion/obsession for soccer; however, her real self always seems to rear up and complicate things. True is a complicated character and I couldn't help but root for her to succeed on the field and in her personal life, even while she frustrated me immensely. For those thinking of sharing with younger readers, there is some adult content that may not be suitable for all readers, and you may want to read it first. A good read as you try to determine whether True's story will be a fairy tale or cautionary tale.

[Laura Lamb-susca · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a novel about a girl coming to age. Her goal in life is to become the best soccer player that there ever was. However there are many obstacles in her life which deter this from happening. Her mother died while giving birth to her autistic sister. This has caused True to become her care giver. Her father is a gambler who lacks the ability to take responsibility. True has a significant anger management problem. This anger that she has is exacerbated on the field. She does not know how to be a team player, she does not know how to interact with other team members. She is forceful, hurtful and always thinks that she is better than everyone else. Eventually, she is eliminated from professional soccer due to her anger issues, which she never resolves. After college, she plays pick up soccer with men. However, above all else her goal is to play professional soccer at the the cost of giving up her sister and father who she totally loses contact with for 12 years. The book ends with her telling about all that she has lost, "and now my professional career is over, I'm playing on a sand pitch in a pick up game. I'm the only girl, I can barely hear my sister at all...And I run into open space.... I do not believe that True ever grew up!

[Cynthia Corral · Rating 2 out of 5]

This went from possibly interesting, to a trudge, then a nosedive down to 2 stars at the end.
There was an interesting start: a teenage soccer player, a severely autistic sister, dead mother, friend issues, boy troubles...
But then it goes... no where.

True is a fantastic soccer player who has absolutely zero personality. According to how she describes herself, her looks match her personality yet she manages to snag two boyfriends she describes as great looking and popular. We are left on our own to understand why. She has a group of best soccer friends, but in high school while still playing they grow apart until they end up enemies... but why? We aren't told.

Nothing that happens in the book has any explanation, things just happen. We don't know why, we don't know how anyone felt, we don't know the history, we are left with an outline with nothing filling it out.

By the time I had trudged through 90% of it I realized the story really wasn't going anywhere and I was debating how many stars to give it, leaning toward 3. But the end result of her relationship with her father and sister was again so far outside the realm of logic that we had been told through the entire book that it just wasn't believable without SOME sort of explanation. Yet again, there is no explanation. The unbelievable outcome of the family relationship was so off the wall and disappointing I have no trouble giving this 2 stars. I simply cannot recommend it to anyone.

[Jenny Webb · Rating 3 out of 5]

I categorized this as YA, but it's not a typical YA coming of age through pursuing and realizing your dreams through sports. The protagonist starts (and ends) flawed and scarred. Her overriding characteristic is her devotion to and articulation of self through soccer, and that remains her overriding characteristic throughout. There isn't growth, change, or even maturity. In that sense, she matches her name: she's a character who is "true" to her self even when that self gets in her own way of any kind of professional success and costs her her relationships. In this sense, though, the story is compelling and real, and the ethical questions it poses surrounding the care of her autistic sister are ones that overwhelm and destroy her family in ways that make an argument that the real antagonist here isn't a father failing his family, an autistic sister draining their emotional and financial resources, or True's own self-defeating behavior: rather, it's a society that fails to make life possible for this family. In this sense, there was no happy ending available from the story's particular inception, and that is worth thinking about as much as anything else in the book.

[Andrea Kneeland · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have mixed feelings about this book. My favorite element, by far, was the voice of the first-person narrative, whose detail-heavy description does an incredible job in intensifying a personality that is bottled up tight beneath obsessiveness and anger. Nearly ever page is layered with detailed descriptions of soccer play and that voice kept me turning pages (even though I have no working knowledge of soccer). This means that I also don't know how this book reads to soccer fans-

My qualms (WARNING - POSSIBLE SPOILER) - though True's relationship with her nuero-atypical sister is central to the plot, and the relationship is deftly drawn, her sister still feels to me, at heart, like a plot device, and I'm not sure how much more of the "developmentally delayed sibling" trope is needed in YA. Likewise, you can smell the sexual violence coming from a mile away, or at least the threat of it, and I was so relieved when, 80% of the way through, I thought I was wrong and was going to be surprised with an unexpected conclusion, free of sexual assault. The ending, though, turned out to be exactly what you expect within the first few chapters of the book.

While I'm not sure how much more I need of those tropes, this is outside of the box for a sports genre book, so recommended if you're trying to build up your sports genre collection in high school or above

[Katie B · Rating 4 out of 5]

True, a teenage girl growing up in California, lives for soccer. She's good enough that one day making the women's national team is a realistic goal. But taking care of her autistic sister, dealing with competitive teammates, and controlling her volatile temper could all stand in the way of achieving her dream.

This book took me on a time warp back to high school in the late 90s, playing soccer, and rooting for the U.S. women's soccer team. True was a complex character in that she appeared tough on the outside, but was dealing with so much on the inside. My heart actually broke a few times as she dealt with things she could control and things that were no fault of her own. I might not have shared the same extreme and intense love of the sport as she did but it's easy to see why her life was so consumed by soccer. I think most of us can also relate to True feeling like an outsider.

Definitely recommend to anyone who has an appreciation for soccer or really any sport.

[Audrey (Warped Shelves) · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25 stars

No words that I string together could be capable of making clear how spectacular True truly is. This novel is all at once a story of siblings, passions, feminism, dream-chasing, success, failure, self-love, and so much more in between. Split between two parts True is dually a coming-of-age and a comeback novel. With simplistic yet alluring prose this story rolls onward like an ocean swell toward shore. And get this: Karl Taro Greenfeld made me interested in a story about sports. Now that is talented writing.

I can't even begin to explain how great True is; this is a book everyone is going to have to read for themselves to fully appreciate.

Thank you to Amazon Prime for the free kindle copy of True!

Popsugar Reading Challenge 2018: A book about or involving a sport
Goodreads Summer Reading Challenge 2018: Sports-a-holic: a book that features a popular summer sport

[Vickie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was devastated by KTG’s Boy Alone. (No spoilers, but if you love someone with autism, you ought to read this book.) I was surprised to find that he’d written a bunch of books while I wasn’t paying attention, and I bought them for my kindle. True was the first one I read.

I was gripped by this book., because I often wonder how my daughter will deal with her autistic brother as we become old and infirm and when we eventually die. I was also completely fascinated by the look it gave me into women’s professional football. I know nothing about the game except what I’ve seen from Bend It Like Beckham. Both sides of the story are brilliantly painted. True is a character who’s hard to like, but somehow you love her anyway. The ending was almost as devastating to me as the ending to Boy Alone, because it was an authentic ending that I had no trouble believing.

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I gave this novel 5 stars because of the intensity, passion and mind blowing spirit that comes off the page at the reader. If you are a soccer fan - especially a women's soccer fan, you will really need to read this book. I am not even a soccer fan, and yet I could not put the book down. To see what it takes for an athlete who loves her sport and makes that her one and only goal in life is incredible. But True must also consider her father and her younger very autistic sister. How True accomplishes all this will bring tears, joy, anger - every emotion out there.
This book is so well written that I could not stop reading. I was enmeshed in the life of soccer - not only from middle school but on up through the international leagues. True will capture your heart.

[Candy Robosky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Soccer, family, autism, relationships - what must be sacrificed

Trudy is an awesome soccer player who has lost her mom when she dies during the birth of Pauline, who has autism. Trudy manages to stay on the top for soccer until high school then her life comes crashing down around her. Greenfield does an interesting job of injecting the story with statistics and soccer terms while also developing the main characters so that the reader wants to know how the story ends. There were a couple of parts that he went back in time that left the story a little confusing but as a whole it was good. I didn't like the ending though as it left too many questions about her family, which is why it got 4 instead of 5 stars.

[fc7reads · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you'e looking for a feel good read, this isn't it. The main character, Trudy, is passionate about playing soccer, and she's quite talented. Unfortunately, life off the pitch is tough for True. Her mom died during the birth of her sister, her sister is on the autism spectrum, and her dad is a little bit checked out. Trudy uses soccer to deal with her feelings about all these things. She believes using her emotional responses to these challenges in her life fuels her excellence as a player -- but she's mistaken. She has many opportunities to get help, to learn and grow, but she always views doing so as a threat to her success in soccer so she never takes advantage. True's story is definitely not a fairy tale. There is no happily ever after.

[Karen Prive · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unexpected twists

I expected this to be a story about a single-minded athlete aiming to play professional women's soccer - and while THAT IS the story, there are underlying plots and themes - the meaning of family, the fact that nothing is ever straightforward, the struggle to tame our demons, the power of anger, the power of love. True is a fully developed character with human imperfections and chooses a path that is equally imperfect. Plot twists toward the end of the book were well set up but not predictable. The ending fell flat for me - but then, I suspect that the flatness made me think about the rest of the story in a deeper way - I think given True's character, it couldn't have been any different.

[Anya · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book on a cross country flight, and I wanted to love it. I thought it was an excellent portrayal of the discrepancy between male and female rising sports stars, with the different standards involved (i.e. looking pretty and competent vs actually valuing aggressive athleticism). While I thought the protagonist was mostly relatable, the author couldn't quite seem to decide how to redeem her character, and the story was ultimately unsatisfying. But I gobbled it up in one sitting and found the ins and outs of the teen elite soccer world to be truly fascinating. A decent Kindle first read, could have been a great read with some thorough editing.

[Brittany Barnes Deeg · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an honest middle of the road read for me. I couldn't put it down, the writing is approachable and draws you in. However, I was hoping for more of a narrative arc to the characters - not necessarily a redemption moment, but a moment of reckoning and clarity. The end was heartbreaking and honest to who the protagonist is, but I never learned if she continued to identify and work through trauma, if her father adjusted to having a special needs daughter, if Tomo committed the crime you think he did.

Open ended stories are generally a favorite of mine, but this novel just fell short for me.

[Rayanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was... interesting to say the least. It definitely had parts that grabbed your attention and successfully appealed to emotion, particularly with Trudy's familial relationships, but the overall structural weakness and personality flaws of the main character were very off-putting. Sometimes time just skips around in the book with very little definition, it was almost like reading multiple books in one, and the off-putting issues Trudy deals with (such as pride, anger, emotional numbing, etc.) are never resolved or dealt with. The ending makes no sense, and what could have been a moment of literary achievement for a profoundly disabled girl or the issues with prosecuting sexual assault/rape in court was anything but. I did enjoy this book, but the lack of coherency, likable main characters, and resolution made for a frustrating read.

[Maria · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick read, interesting character ... at first

Wasn't sure if I'd post a review. I read this book in basically one sitting with a few breaks. I wanted to see where it was going. I found myself pulling fpr the main character for the first half of the book, then I wasn't sure what was happening. I liked her relationship with her sister though. But then it got more hurried and floundered. And by the last part of the book, I was like what just happened here?? By then, I really felt nothing for her. It actually felt out of character for the girl from the rest of the book...

[Monica Waggoner · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an Anne-Tyleresque portrait of miserable people having crappy lives because they don't see any other way to go about it. It's well-written and realistic, but seriously frustrating. Any time things start going better, you're bracing yourself for the fall, and Greenfield never disappoints you in that respect.

There may be a larger message he intended to get across, about women's sports or how we treat developmentally disabled people, but no one in the story has the passion or energy to deliver the message. They are too bogged down in how awful their lives are.