The Truth Out There - Hardcover

DK Publishing; Rees, Celia

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0789426684 ISBN 13: 9780789426680

Publisher: Dk Ink, 2000

Synopsis

When Patrick goes to visit his grandmother, he learns that asking about his late Uncle Patrick is not allowed, thus his own research uncovers Uncle Patrick's collection of rare UFO magazines and alien spaceship drawings which makes him think that something rather unusual may have happened to him.

About this title

About the Author:

Celia Rees has written many books for young people. "I'm interested in the 'unexplained' and often use it in my work," she says. "The fascination started when I was a child and extends to many things-from UFOs and the possibility of life 'out there,' to the uncharted regions of our own brains. I wondered what it would be like to be an alien, how our world would be to them; then I realized that we don't have to look to outer space to find people who see things differently...." Celia Rees lives in England with her husband and her teenage daughter. She taught English for many years, and now divides her time between writing, talking to readers, and teaching creative writing.

From School Library Journal:

Grade 6-10-Josh, 13, and his mother, Joanna, are spending part of the summer at the village home of Josh's ailing grandmother. At first, the boy is sorry to leave London and his friends, but he soon becomes involved in a quest to learn more about his late uncle Patrick, who died when he was Josh's age. The family refuses to speak of Patrick, but Josh and Katherine, the 16-year-old next door, accidentally stumble upon a memoir that Joanna is writing. As the teens learn more about her childhood and those of her siblings, they begin to notice an unmistakable parallel between the tragic events of the past and a futuristic computer game that they are playing. They eventually discover that Patrick had a condition similar to autism and was committed to an institution by his father. Josh is able to help his mother and uncle come to terms with their brother's illness and be reunited with Patrick, who is in fact alive and living nearby. Rees does a marvelous job of injecting an atmosphere of mystery and uncertainty into the novel from the beginning. Dialogue, plot, and characters are notable for their authenticity and originality, yet the descriptive sentences are sometimes awkward and read more like detailed notes than coherent passages. The cover art, although eye-catching, is misleading as it shows a young Patrick confronting what appears to be an alien, and it may repel teens in search of realistic fiction. An original, intelligent novel from a fresh voice in YA literature.
Leah J. Sparks, Bowie Public Library, MD
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Dk Ink
• Publication date: 2000
• ISBN 10: 0789426684
• ISBN 13: 9780789426680
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 240