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Circle the Truth

  • Interest Level: Grade 7 - Grade 12
  • Reading Level: Grade 7

Strange things are happening in Rith’s house at night. First a spiral staircase replaces the regular stairs. The new stairs lead to a living room that isn’t his, a cat that isn’t his either, and a bizarre old man whose words are just gibberish. Or are they? Rith’s never been into religion. But he realizes those words have a spiritual source—and an uncanny ring of truth. Is he just dreaming? Is the old man God? As Rith tries to circle closer to the truth, the line between reality and unreality blurs

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978-1-58013-627-3
 $22.99
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Interest Level Grade 7 - Grade 12
Reading Level Grade 7
Genre Young Adult
Publisher Lerner Publishing Group
Imprint Carolrhoda Books ®
Language English
Publication Date 2007-08-01
Reading Counts! Level 3.3
Reading Counts! Points 11.0
Text Type Fiction
BISACS YAF018000, YAF051000
Dewey [E]
Lexile 610
ATOS Reading Level 4.1
Accelerated Reader® Quiz 116418
Accelerated Reader® Points 6.0
Features Author/Illustrator biography, Awards, and Reviewed

Author: Pat Schmatz

Pat Schmatz has lived in the Wisconsin woods of her childhood after years in Michigan, northern California, and Minneapolis. She's worked everywhere from a green bean canning factory to UC Berkeley campus. . . she's been a fitness consultant, legal secretary, stable hand, librarian, and forklift driver, all while continuing a lifelong quest for story in any form.

Awards

  • Wisconsin Library Association's Outstanding Book by a Wisconsin Author, Winner, 2007
  • Children's Book Committee at Bank Street College Best Children's Book of the Year, Winner, 2007

Reviews

Booklist

“. . .a well-written story about a boy trying find his place in a family and testing his relationship with God.”
—Booklist

Children's Literature Network

“There are mysteries aplenty in this novel, none of which have neat or tidy answers, providing the best kind of reading experience.”
—Children’s Literature Network

Kirkus Reviews

“This rhapsody on faith, acceptance, patience and the relationship between ‘truth’ and ‘reality’ is an unusual and valuable addition to the pantheon of literature for youth, particularly since faith is so seldom addressed with such neutrality in books for younger readers.”
—Kirkus Reviews