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True As Steel: Realistic Fiction for ages 9-12
What's worse, betraying your best friend, or losing your home? Poppy Parker is between a rock and a hard spot. Her new life with Detective Trey Brannigan and his mom is going great until a shy, lonely neighbor girl crashes her bicycle right outside their front yard. As the girls develop a friendship, Poppy is stunned to learn that Presley is harboring a dangerous secret that could cost an innocent life if revealed.
Fighting her instinct to confide in Trey, Poppy nervously promises to keep quiet. But as more details emerge, she's soon facing an impossible choice--expose the secret at the risk of someone's life or lie to Trey and possibly lose her new family.
Can she find a way to tell the truth while still honoring her promise, or will her newfound happiness be lost for good?
True as Steel is the engrossing second book in the contemporary middle grade Poppy Parker series. If you enjoy intriguing plots with memorable characters and happy endings, then you'll love Dianna Dorisi Winget's suspenseful tale.
Buy True as Steel for the heartwarming conclusion to Poppy's story today!
Fighting her instinct to confide in Trey, Poppy nervously promises to keep quiet. But as more details emerge, she's soon facing an impossible choice--expose the secret at the risk of someone's life or lie to Trey and possibly lose her new family.
Can she find a way to tell the truth while still honoring her promise, or will her newfound happiness be lost for good?
True as Steel is the engrossing second book in the contemporary middle grade Poppy Parker series. If you enjoy intriguing plots with memorable characters and happy endings, then you'll love Dianna Dorisi Winget's suspenseful tale.
Buy True as Steel for the heartwarming conclusion to Poppy's story today!
- GenresRealistic Fiction
141 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 23, 2021
7 people are currently reading
31 people want to read
About the author
Dianna Dorisi Winget
11 books116 followersDianna begin writing at nine years old, when she would stuff notebooks under her bed to prevent prying eyes from seeing her wonderful masterpieces. It wasn't until graduating from high school that she finally admitted her love for writing.
With the support of her parents, she was able to enroll in the Institute of Children's Literature, a well-respected correspondance school. After completing both the basic and advanced courses, Dianna began selling short stories and articles to magazines such as Clubhouse, U*S* Kids, Child Life, and Good Reading for Everyone.
It wasn't until 2012, that Dianna realized her dream of writing middle grade novels for kids with the publication of "A Smidgen of Sky," (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt) followed by the sequel, "A Sliver of Sun." She is also the author of "A Million Ways Home" published by Scholastic Press in 2014. Dianna is repped by Lara Perkins at the Andrea Brown Literary Agency.
With the support of her parents, she was able to enroll in the Institute of Children's Literature, a well-respected correspondance school. After completing both the basic and advanced courses, Dianna began selling short stories and articles to magazines such as Clubhouse, U*S* Kids, Child Life, and Good Reading for Everyone.
It wasn't until 2012, that Dianna realized her dream of writing middle grade novels for kids with the publication of "A Smidgen of Sky," (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt) followed by the sequel, "A Sliver of Sun." She is also the author of "A Million Ways Home" published by Scholastic Press in 2014. Dianna is repped by Lara Perkins at the Andrea Brown Literary Agency.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
August 14, 2021
When a million ways home won the mark twain award I was in fifth grade, so it was all over the scholastic newspapers they hand out before the book fair. I got it and remember being very fond of it, and just recently read it again after seeing it on my shelf. After finishing I looked up the author to see her other works and saw that just recently she published a second one. I got it of course and have to say I really enjoyed it. I loved the character dynamics, especially between poppy and trey. I have always loved the "dad who isnt biologically the dad raising a young teen he just kind of found" trope. ex.- ellie and joel from the last of us, peter parker and tony stark from some marvel movies, you get the point. the book was super cute and charming and I read the whole thing in a few hours. While it touched on a few heavier topics it was still a very nice read with lots of good humor and lovely banter. the ending felt very open so I have no idea what Diannas plans are with continuing the series but i really hope she does, and by some miracle she reads this- PLEASE right another one I would 10/10 read.
May 22, 2021
Though True As Steel is definitely a stand-alone book, I would highly recommend reading the book ahead of this one since the two tie together beautifully. That book is the award winning A Million Ways Home.
In the second of the two books Poppy meets a new friend who is lonely since she has had to move a lot and is also being home schooled. Poppy is anxious to have a new friend in the neighborhood and she quickly excuses her concerns over the girl’s unusual clothes reasoning that she probably just needs to do laundry. But when Poppy discovers where the girl lives and a little about her family, she begins to wonder if she should share some things with her guardian, Trey, who just happens to also be a detective.
Dianna’s stories, in my opinion, are perfect for classroom reading. They come with topics that are of interest and encourage discussions. In 2017, A Million Ways Home was Missouri’s winner of the Mark Twain Readers Award. If you’re not familiar with this award, the winner is selected annually by students in grades four through six. Missouri is a big state for children to vote this book a winner. So her writing obviously fits well with that age group.
And that’s why I really recommend that you read both of these wonderful books. It’s been several years since I read the first one, but the emotions it brought out in me within very few pages has stuck with me.
Now, regarding my thoughts on True As Steel, Dianna had a hard act to follow. And she did a wonderful job of not only showing how Poppy’s life is in her new situation, but introducing Poppy to a new friend with some mysterious things surrounding her. When Poppy begins to finally work through what is going on with her new friend and her family, she has a hard decision to make. A decision that is ideal for classroom discussions.
This set of books educate and cause deeper thinking. I hate to say it, but so many middle grade stories are filled with bad language and actions. Perhaps in many ways those more accurately reflect life in some areas of the country, but even if that is so, I wouldn’t feel comfortable okaying my child to read those books. Winget’s books don’t portray children as angelic, but her books are all clean reading at its best.
My Concerns
Small Concern: I had a little trouble emotionally connecting with the characters.
Final Thoughts
This is an interesting story with both a moral dilemma and a mystery. And it ties together nicely with the previous novel. If you’re not familiar with Winget’s books, now’s the time to change that. She is a top-notch author with books you’ll feel comfortable sharing with Middle Graders.
My thanks to the author for a review copy. I was free to post my opinion.
In the second of the two books Poppy meets a new friend who is lonely since she has had to move a lot and is also being home schooled. Poppy is anxious to have a new friend in the neighborhood and she quickly excuses her concerns over the girl’s unusual clothes reasoning that she probably just needs to do laundry. But when Poppy discovers where the girl lives and a little about her family, she begins to wonder if she should share some things with her guardian, Trey, who just happens to also be a detective.
Dianna’s stories, in my opinion, are perfect for classroom reading. They come with topics that are of interest and encourage discussions. In 2017, A Million Ways Home was Missouri’s winner of the Mark Twain Readers Award. If you’re not familiar with this award, the winner is selected annually by students in grades four through six. Missouri is a big state for children to vote this book a winner. So her writing obviously fits well with that age group.
And that’s why I really recommend that you read both of these wonderful books. It’s been several years since I read the first one, but the emotions it brought out in me within very few pages has stuck with me.
Now, regarding my thoughts on True As Steel, Dianna had a hard act to follow. And she did a wonderful job of not only showing how Poppy’s life is in her new situation, but introducing Poppy to a new friend with some mysterious things surrounding her. When Poppy begins to finally work through what is going on with her new friend and her family, she has a hard decision to make. A decision that is ideal for classroom discussions.
This set of books educate and cause deeper thinking. I hate to say it, but so many middle grade stories are filled with bad language and actions. Perhaps in many ways those more accurately reflect life in some areas of the country, but even if that is so, I wouldn’t feel comfortable okaying my child to read those books. Winget’s books don’t portray children as angelic, but her books are all clean reading at its best.
My Concerns
Small Concern: I had a little trouble emotionally connecting with the characters.
Final Thoughts
This is an interesting story with both a moral dilemma and a mystery. And it ties together nicely with the previous novel. If you’re not familiar with Winget’s books, now’s the time to change that. She is a top-notch author with books you’ll feel comfortable sharing with Middle Graders.
My thanks to the author for a review copy. I was free to post my opinion.
March 17, 2024
I love poppy and why did no one tell me that my favorite childhood book had a sequel??? so good
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews