Truly Lovejoy, or Drooly as her brother calls her, tries to stay under the radar. But she’s nearly six feet tall and sporting size 10.5 shoes, so being overlooked is impossible.
When her father loses an arm to an IED in Afghanistan, the family is yanked from their first home in Austin and plunked into tiny, duller-than-dull Pumpkin Falls, New Hampshire. The move is supposed to be good for her dad, but Truly struggles with being displaced. A bright spot is getting to know her colorful and perky Aunt True, who begins to work with Truly’s dad to make over the 100-year-old family bookstore. The whole town soon comes together to turn the bookstore into something wonderful. While working in the store, Truly finds a cryptic message stuck inside a copy of Charlotte’s Web. Soon she finds that chasing clues is more intriguing than dwelling on being “stuck” in Pumpkin Falls.
Absolutely Truly is a series opener by Heather Vogel Frederick, award-winning author of the Mother-Daughter Book Club series. Middle grade readers will enjoy the cozy town, engaging characters and easily relatable family situations.
This article was originally published in the November 2014 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.
