THE TRUTH-TELLER’S TALE

Readers return to the imaginative medieval realm of Truth-Tellers, Safe-Keepers and Dream-Makers in this entertaining sequel to Shinn’s The Safe-Keeper’s Secret (2004). The story takes place in Merendon, a large port city, and is told from the point of view of Eleda, a young Truth-Teller who is often sought out to give frank, fair-minded opinions. Her identical “mirror twin” Adele is a Safe-Keeper who listens and hides secrets. Daughters of nurturing innkeepers, the plot thickens when they are sometimes mistaken for one another. When their best friend Roelynn secretly falls in love with the visiting dancing-master’s apprentice, possibly thwarting her wealthy merchant father’s determination that she marry the prince, romantic mayhem results. Romance reigns for all in this engaging page-turner of mistaken identity and a seemingly unfathomable reordering of the natural state of affairs. While Shinn’s depiction of this fantasy world 20 years later doesn’t have the spiritual underpinnings and complexity of the first, and some of the subject matter may be more appropriate for older teens, she has once again created a captivating tale. (Fantasy. 12+)