One Speck of Truth

by Caela Carter

A heartwarming and poignant story that explores the bonds of family and the importance of knowing your own history, from the critically acclaimed author of My Life with the Liars and the ALA Notable Book Forever, or a Long, Long Time

Alma has everything she needs, except answers to her questions. Her mother won’t tell her why her beloved stepfather, Adam, is suddenly gone this summer. Or about life in Portugal, where her parents met. Not even about her father, who Alma cannot find, no matter how many graveyards she searches with her best friend, Julia.

Then Alma’s mother shocks her by moving them both to Lisbon so Alma can fall in love with the vibrant city where her father grew up. There she discovers she has more family than she could have imagined.

She hopes Portugal holds the answers she’s been desperately searching for, but it turns out finding the truth may be more complicated than she, or her mother, bargained for.

Genres: Middle Grade, Realistic Fiction, Young Adult, Fiction, Contemporary, Portugal, Family

304 pages, Paperback

First published March 5, 2019

About the author

Caela Carter grew up in Basking Ridge, NJ and Baltimore, MD. She's been writing since she learned how to pick up a pen but before the writing thing got serious she spent six years teaching English to middle and high school students in Jacksonville, FL and Chicago, IL. Her debut novel, ME, HIM, THEM AND IT was published in 2013 by Bloomsbury. When she's not writing, Caela is a teacher of some awesome teens in Brooklyn, a Notre Dame football enthusiast, and a happy explorer in New York City.

Reviews

[Liralen · Rating 3 out of 5]

There's a lot that Alma's mother isn't telling her: where her father is buried. Why her stepfather left. Why Alma isn't allowed to ask questions. Why the furniture is disappearing, piece by piece, from the house. It's only days before they get on an aeroplane that Alma learns the answer to that last question: they're moving. (But her mother doesn't tell her where, or why, or for how long.) So Alma's left to figure it out: what happened to her father, and what happened with her stepfather, and how does she suddenly have a throng of Portuguese relatives she's never known?

I read this for the Portugal setting, which I'm not sure I've seen before in YA/MG lit. I'd have liked to see the setting used a bit more, but it still works nicely for the piece. But...gosh. Alma never really gets her answers, does she? That is: she learns some truths about her father, and about her stepfather. But by the end of the book she hasn't realised that she has other, and perhaps more important, questions to ask. Like: is her mother okay? Her mother, who withholds all information possible until the last possible minute (like, doesn't tell Alma that she's not going back to her US school until Alma's not allowed on the school bus because her mother hasn't registered her; doesn't tell her they're going to Portugal until they're at the airport and are handed their boarding passes). And why are her mother, and her mother's parents, so ashamed that Alma's father isn't around? And how does her (former) stepfather justify going from pledging to adopt Alma to dropping off the face of the earth? But mostly: is her mother okay? I like a lot of things about the book but am still left feeling like Alma has been dealt the short end of the stick.

[Darla · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was filled with questions and the answers were too few or too late. Alma was a sympathetic character and I found her understandable. Her mother Mercy was off the charts unbelievable. How could you not tell a 12-year-old she is switching schools and moving out of the country before the first day of school, especially when you are farming her out to the home of her best friend most of the summer. Don't even get me started on the American grandparents. The only adult characters I liked were Adam and the Portugese grandmother. Alma does manage to learn a thing or two, but it's a wonder. I did like the ending.

Thank you to HarperCollins and Edelweiss for a digital ARC of this book.

[Jessie_Book · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't really know what to say about this book. I just genuinely didn't like it. The only thing that I enjoyed about this book was the best friend. The best friends was so nice to read about, she brought to interesting conflicts to the story without it being too contrived. Besides her the mother was despicable, the daughter was irritating and selfish, all the other characters we bland. They sometimes said things and all I could think was "you can't be this dumb". I started to enjoy it near the end, but I don't know if that was because it got better or because I could see that there weren't that many pages left. The one saving grace in this book was the best friend and I wish there was more of her in it.

[Amie · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's kind of sad but it was a good book

[Tamsyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. I liked a lot about this story, but the mother was extremely frustrating and infuriating past the point of believability. Decent resolution and a small glimpse of Portugal made it more enjoyable.

[EJ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay so like. I realise this was the entire point of the story, but why the HELL did someone not tell this child the truth much sooner? Like, sure, parents make mistakes. But there were four or five OTHER people who could have told Alma the truth. Plus, WHAT is wrong with her mom! There were obviously some significant mental health issues going on but nothing is addressed or really dealt with? I'm so unsettled by how deeply Alma internalized that asking questions made her a Bad Child and yet this is never really challenged by any adults? Also (and this at least was addressed) CHILDREN SHOULD NOT HAVE TO BE GRATEFUL TO THEIR PARENTS FOR BASIC NECESSITIES. They SHOULD take them for granted! That is WHY adults are the caretakers! If you're an adult and you're constantly telling the children around you to be thankful/grateful for having 'good parents' you can get wrecked!

[Shauna Yusko · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not sure about this one.

[Max B · Rating 4 out of 5]

One Speck of Truth- A Speck-ial Title Indeed

 One of my favorite books from the viewpoint of theme and character development of all time is Betty Smith’s A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. I think this book is a masterpiece that successfully understands the delicate balance between keeping the book intriguing and making it a deep story with character growth and a developed theme. So when I heard reviews of Caela Carter’s One Speck Of Truth (published by HarperCollins LLC on March 5, 2019) recommend this book to fans of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn on multiple websites, then I decided that this book was going to be my next read. I went into this book with great expectations, and it was a fair novel overall. The theme that it's important to balance people's expectations for you with your own is a very interesting and unique theme, and I was quite intrigued by how this would play out throughout the entire book. However, it is very apparent that the author spent more attention in the beginning, as the end is far too short and is extremely rushed, and leaves something to be desired.

 In One Speck Of Truth, Alma’s obsessed with figuring out the truth about her father, and her mother refuses to tell her. But when she moves to Lisbon, Portugal, where her father’s side of the family lives, she decides she will figure out the truth once and for all. The theme of the book is that it's important to balance people's expectations for you with your own is one thoroughly developed in the beginning through the use of foreshadowing and juxtaposition. Foreshadowing is used to predict Alma’s father being less than a good parent, because as Alma continually fantasizes about her father being the perfect father, the reader begins to doubt the actual validity of this utopian dream. Also, throughout the first part of the book, Alma and her mother are juxtaposed to emphasize how different both of them are. Readers see Alma’s constant need for questions and her mom’s forgetfulness, so when the reader normalizes one of them internally, the other one will always be seen as an outsider. Additionally, the author juxtaposes Alma and her mom once they get to Lisbon, as the audience sees Alma’s mom become happier and start to remember more, so while reader see Alma refusing to stop looking for her father, they become frustrated, which keeps the reader interested due to the amount of emotion related to this book. The theme is developed through these literary devices, as it stresses the lack of balance of Alma’s (and her mom’s) outside influences and her/their own hopes and goals at the start of the book, which will contrast with their growth at the end of the book. However, the theme development is definitely not perfect, as the ending is extremely lackluster and has Carter telling the reader through dialogue that Alma will reach the perfect balance, while this change in ideas apparently happened over the last 2 chapters of the book, which is a span of two days. This leads to a less memorable ending, and one that seems rushed and ingenuine. One book that does this better that I named previously was Betty Smith’s A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. In the latter portion of this book, we see the protagonist, Francie Nolan, struggle but slowly develop and get over the grief over her circumstances as she begins to find happiness. The difference between these two books is that, while the reader is told that Alma will get over her father and find the balance that is the theme, the reader is shown that Francie has gotten over her grief and reflects on her growth, which leaves a more powerful message. This leads to a better understanding, and if you just compare these two books, then you’ll just see how much better A Tree Grows in Brooklyn sold in its first year as opposed to One Speck of Truth, which should show how much better the showing vs telling method is.

 In conclusion, this book is a good book overall, with solid character setup and an engaging plot, as well as an engaging and unique theme. The book also uses literary devices in a way that engages the reader and advances the plot, characters and theme. However, the ending feels dull and so different, that it makes the experience a little bit worse. In summary, I give Caela Carter’s One Speck of Truth a 4.5/5, a good book, but with some flaws noticeable, not rendering the book terrible or unreadable by any means of the word, but still flaws nonetheless. I recommend this book to fans of fiction books, as well as those who like learning about people’s adjustment into new places.

[Violet · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this book. There were so many parts where I felt so much sympathy and felt like it was raw emotion as if this were some kind of memoir. This book showed a lot of emotion and I would really recommend it if you enjoy reading heartfelt and sad stories. While I was reading this, I really hated Alma's (the main character) mom because she was so secretive and wouldn't tell her daughter anything, but once I found out her reasons and what she was going through, I actually felt really bad. This is an amazing book and I highly recommend it.

[BookJedenWie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Na początku jakoś nie mogłam się wkręcić w tę historię, ale mogę zrzucić to na fakt, że nie byłam przyzwyczajona do czytania w języku angielskim. Około setnej strony pojawił się plot twist, później drugi i trzeci. Zanim się zorientowałam, już ją kończyłam. Bardzo dobra młodzieżówka opowiadająca o miłości rodzicielskiej, poszukiwaniu prawdy i rodzinie.

[hailey sierra]

This books was so stinking cute what the heck, had me crying on a Wednesday night 🥲

Rating: Instant Family (the movie)

Instant family is an adorable movie about this couple who decides they want to adopt. They say they will adopt a teenager without realizing that she comes with two younger siblings. The movie is about figuring out that family is the people who love you not always the people who made you.

This book was absolutely so stinking cute. It’s middle grade but I loved it. It had similar themes to instant family and it was just adorable. I love happy ending family stories.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading One Speck of Truth was like climbing the old, narrow stairs in Lisbon; Caela Carter offered glimpses of beauty along the climb, but obscured the full truth until the end. Like Alma, I missed seeing some of the truth that should have been visible and thought I knew what had only been implied.

Alma was a compelling character with a strong motivation and the fault of short-sightedness (and not the kind that could be fixed by her big green glasses). Only later in the story did I recognize how Julia is not only a friend, but an important foil for Alma.

Through the secrecy and mistrust Carter makes the case that every child deserves a family, and also that sometimes that family is one we least expect.

This will be a good book for readers who enjoy a bit of mystery or whose hearts are feeling a little crumpled and alone.

[Monique · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

When I started this book, after the first 30 or so pages, I was very nervous because I didn't really like any of the characters? The mother was pretty terrible, and while I can't fault Alma too much for her behavior given who her mother is + her age I wasn't really feeling connected to her either. Now, characters I can't relate with I can usually handle but the writing wasn't really adding anything to the story. It felt dull, and sometimes forced. It was disappointing since Forever, or a Long, Long Time is one of my favorite middle grade books, with the story and writing just feeling seamless and heart-wrenching. I powered through, however, and was pleasantly surprised to find myself becoming more involved. Once our characters were on their way to Portugal, and when they arrived I felt that is where the story should have started all along. I began to really feel for Alma as she tried so hard to connect herself to the father she didn't know and had only created in her mind. It took me the longest time to really feel bad for Alma's mother, because she treated her daughter kind of terribly? Only 30 pages from the end do we undertand why she was like that and it was understandable (and pretty bad), but throughout the book it was frustrating to see her treat Alma that way. There were many things I wish this book had done better, but what we got in the end was appreciated. ( Please oh please let there be some sort of follow up book with Julia!! )

[Lara · Rating 3 out of 5]

As beautifully and emotionally written as Forever, or a Long, Long Time. Ms. Carter understands that kids are smart, they see more than adults assume they see and process them (sometimes in awkward ways), they ask questions, and if their questions aren't answered, they hold them inside. I am honestly angry at Alma's mother, because you cannot just refuse to give a twelve-year-old any information at all about a vital part of her life, you cannot just lie (by omission or otherwise) and pretend that will work forever. And you absolutely one-hundred-percent cannot drag your kid to live in a foreign country without telling her in advance, and claim "oh, you didn't need to know, you'd just have fretted about it".

A lot of love, also , for the topic of transracial adoption, which is touched on through Alma's friend Julie, and is a bond between them--they both have absent parents. Julie's parents are more open about a lot of things than Alma's mother, but their insistence to her that she doesn't need to be curious about her biological mother in Korea, that she should just be grateful that she has a family who loves her, is another aspect of the search for truth that arcs through the book.

[Jen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think the book was well-written overall. For me, it was the characters themselves that really irritated me. The mom in particular felt unrelatable because of how extreme her parenting style was. It was also inconsistent based on whether Adam was involved or not. Overall, there was a lot of emotional abuse and manipulation happening that I felt was somewhat trivialized by the “I guess I just have to look on the bright side” kind of ending. It felt like the opposite of what Alma was trying to teach Julia.

I thought it was interesting that Julia’s mom was given this savior-complex trait all of a sudden. “We adopted you, so be grateful.” I guess the author was trying to show that no family is perfect and that adoptees can have a lot of emotional baggage to sift through as well - but it still felt like this character trait came out of no where.

Ultimately, it’s Alma’s mom that really made this book annoying to read. My teen recommended it to me as a really great and well-written book. I just have to make sure she understands that the mom’s behavior in this book is simply not ok.

Side note: Lisbon sounds like a beautiful city and this book did pique my interest in traveling there some day.

[Rafaella Garcia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sendo sincera, achei a escrita da Carter fraquinha quando comecei a ler. Mas pensando que e um livro mais voltado para voltado para crianças faz sentido. O enredo de algumas partes do livro eram bem cliché ou muito inusitado, mas isso não tirou completamente a experiencia de ler o livro. No começo, achei a Alma uma chata (tadinha KKKKK), mas eu faria muito pior se minha mae nao me contasse nada. A evolução dela é muito nítida, no começo ela só pensava nela mesma, no meio também e no final, quando ela passou por muitas frustrações e 'fechou o coração dela', ela conseguiu perceber o ciclo de mentiras que a família dela tinha se enfiado e quão realmente ela queria mudar isso. Acho que a autora conseguiu passar bem o desespero, a angústia e a ansiedade de ter muitas perguntas e nenhuma resposta, como o silencio pode afastar pessoas e afetar relacionamentos com quem amamos. Foi uma leitura bem levinha, mas que ainda pode ensinar valores legais para quem le com o coração. Honestidade, família, amizade, recomeços, papel de pais. È um livro que eu recomendaria para uma pessoa mais nova.

[Clover White · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, if there was ever a story to hammer home the idea that “honesty is the best policy”... Very interesting story, but I find it hard to believe that the mother in the story consistently refused to answer questions, or failed to see the daughter’s need for answers. Other characters try to explain it away with the excuse that she was such a young mother, but that, in and of itself, does not make a person so wedded to secrecy. I would have needed to hear more backstory to make that a convincing life choice. That said, I really liked the author’s writing and storytelling. Is truth a theme in all her books? I see that her first book was called “My Life With the Liars”... might have to read that, too!

[Cheryl · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm going to post this review before reading other reviews (and I'm very curious as to how others felt about this book). We've got a girl searching for her dead father. I couldn't understand WHAT her motivation was--other than wanting to know. Why did she think locating his grave would solve everything? What good did she think leaving notes at gravesites would help? Why did she consider him the person she loved most when she never knew him? And I might add--why did her grandmother consider her so kind and wonderful when she seemed constantly angry and upset and ignored the feelings of others in her single-minded quest? I really did not enjoy this book. At least the ending was realistic and didn't sell-out.

[Ellen Jarrard · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a 4.5/10 up until about page 201-212 and beyond. I find the ending and conclusion abrupt. I had suspicions earlier in the book that Alma's father was a deadbeat, and I was correct on that account. I got sucked into this book, and I like the main character and her friend. Most of this book, besides after she starts interacting with her father, I really enjoyed. The main lesson in this book is that just because someone is your dad doesn't mean they care about you and to appreciate the family you have. Overall, I enjoyed it a lot. I feel that it deserves a sequel and maybe more following books about this life.

[Mimi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I appreciated the real, flawed characters in this story. For me, it was a page-turning, tear-jerking thriller, and my heart connected with Alma as she obsessed over finding her dad. Lots of complex relationships and bumpy self-discovery that resolve in a middle grade-appropriate way when Alma learns that being vulnerable with the people you love is the way to create true familial bonds.

The only downside was I felt like the Mom’s behavior in Pittsburgh flirted with mental illness in a way that was never addressed. And I’m hoping for a sequel about Julia’s search for her birth mom!

[Becky Shaknovich · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the second book I’ve read by this author (My Life With the Liars was the first), and I’m starting to think I really like Caela Carter! Other reviews complain about the unlikeable mother, but that’s actually the whole point. Children with unreliable, dishonest, and otherwise bad parents are the ones who truly need comfort from a book. Ms. Carter has a talent for writing about children with parents who have let them down. Reading her books feels like a hug from the author and a reassurance that you are not alone. I’ll definitely be seeking out her other books.

[soap · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is basically a copy+paste of another J book that I just read recently where the mom is a manipulative liar and the father is a deadbeat and so the protagonist (a twelve year old girl, mind you) now has to be the person to somehow 'fix' her family even though she's literally 12 and there are adults who don't have their shit together that should be doing that for her. Fast and easy read, but ridiculous. Is this the overly used J fiction trope? I hate it.

[Mrs Heidrich · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars
This is about a girl going into Grade 6 that lives with her mum and was told her Dad passed away when she was very young, so she has no memories of him. It's a story of friendship, growth, truth, love and its complications on many levels, family, and figuring out who you are. I really enjoyed this one and it has more of the "grit" factor that I personally like. I also felt like there was a bit of a mystery throughout, but I won't say any more about that... a great read!

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute but frustrating real-life type book for middle grade readers. About a little girl who lives with her crazy, divorced mother who is constantly lying and withholding information from her because she doesn't want her to "worry". I kept getting so mad at that very confused mom! The main character has to learn a lot and have an adventure on her own to make peace with her life. Good writing, interesting story.

[Marci Kay · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm confused why I liked this book so much when every single adult character was infuriating. And there wasn't really a resolution to their infuriatingness? And it wasn't the kind where you feel like it's just a kid's perspective on things and they'll understand when they're older. But it was still a nice story with interesting storylines and a main character who made up for her adults and for the way she's being raised. But man were those adults the worst.

[Shirley Freeman]

Twelve year old Alma's life has been consumed by questions - primarily about her apparently deceased father. Alma's mother and grandparents excel at prevarication and never answer her questions. Both Alma and her mother grow up a bit in this coming-of-age story about discovering family, practicing and trusting good communication, and aligning reality with expectations.

[Wendy Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was probably one of the most frustrating books I have read in a long time. Nobody tells the truth and many of the adults act in very unpredictable and inconsistent ways. But the things I hated about it also made it hard to put down. I was disappointed when I learned the truth because it was a bit too convenient and the real story was uninteresting and not well developed.

[Chloe Kingston · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sometimes i get really bored of books but this book made me want to keep reading it. i really suggest this book for 9 and up! for some kids it easy to compare to and for others it makes them aware of other peoples situations. I really love this book and plan to read it again!❤️Caela Carter

[Courtney · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was given an advanced copy from Edelweiss for my honest review, here it is. The fact that there was not one single adult who would stand up to her mother for this poor girl's sake really made me angry.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Carter draws the reader through a story with simple mystery as she explores the cost of distancing ourselves from the pain of the truth. This is a sweet story of acceptance and finding love where it actually is. Though it is YA, I found it relatable as an adult.