Truth (Edebe, 2017) is a youth novel by the writer Care Santos. It is a continuation of Mentira, from the year 2015. Truth what it does is clarify who Eric really is despite prejudices. After so many lies comes the opportunity for innocence and redemption. However, the truth is not always what we expect to find or is clouded by people's misgivings. Fear (2019) completes this youth trilogy that has been required reading in some school curricula in Spain.
Eric was charged with murder at the age of 14.. After spending time in a juvenile facility, he is released because he is innocent. But proving innocence out there will be even more exhausting. Insertion into a society that is often ruthless can become complicated. Only the assumption of the truth, with the help of love, will be able to repair a lie..
Truth: when love repairs the lie
The novel: preamble and situation
Mentira, Truth y Fear They are resounding titles that make up a trilogy. Mentira delves into the point of view of Xenia, the 16-year-old girl with whom Eric has an affair, or something similar. Since in this first novel we see a well integrated, responsible and studious young woman who meets the "bad boy" through an internet forum. Then the polarity and the representation of the bad influence of a teenager are appreciated. But Despite making mistakes, Eric is not the person everyone says he is. Eric after years in a juvenile center must demonstrate in the following novel, the truth.
En Truth second chances appear, there is still the need to love and be loved in a safe society where they accept each other. Eric seeks justice, highlighting his innocence and achieving the long-awaited redemption through the truth. And, of course, that the damage he has suffered be repaired. But far from finding all this, he finds himself face to face with a hostile environment that distrusts the truth and that can make Eric falter. Bringing out the truth and having an orderly life would never have thought it would be more complicated in the real world.. But yes, that is the biggest test you can face and only through love and your own truth can you repair the blow of a big lie.
The group. Characters
The characters play a fundamental role in the novel. Being part of something, or on the contrary, being outside, means a lot in this novel where social judgment can be more pernicious than that dictated by men and women of law. Also Truth and the trilogy focus on teenage life, but it seems to fade into a forced step into adulthood. The characters have the complexity that a story like this deserves.
- Eric. The protagonist of the novel lives in a troubled neighborhood where crime is quite common. He has a broken family, but his salvation is his interior. She is a person of good feelings and above all noble. This was precisely what led him to the juvenile center and to be tried as guilty of a crime. He is sensitive, a reader and has creative gifts.
- Xenia. It's Eric's love. She is a responsible, determined and brave girl. She loves Eric and does everything she can to support him, even though in this second part have less presence due to the distance of the couple.
- Ben. He is Eri's cousinc. She passed away and is key in Eric's guilty plea.
- Hugo. He becomes a good friend and a pillar to Eric.. He is a blind boy who hires him to read to him. The two will give strength to each other.
- Elena. Librarian who approaches Eric to help him. He proposes to be a writer by believing in him and in his abilities, beyond what others may think.
Strengths of the novel
Truth consists of an interesting plot that generates expectation with its multiple entanglements and some vulnerable characters loaded with strength. Care Santos knows how to dose the information of a plot that will not cease to surprise the reader, who can expect one thing and find another.
The author manages to make a youth novel a story that can also interest different generations. Cause what she deals with is a story of truths, trials, well-constructed characters and complicated lives outside the ordinary, known to the majority of citizens only through fiction.
In this novel you can also see the pedagogical intention of the author. In a context of violence, crime and poverty, opportunities are minimal. Education is fundamental, as well as strong family nuclei capable of educating and being there for their children. However, when life is difficult and the basics are lacking, frustration, anger, and lack can lead to situations that feed back into forgotten neighborhoods turned into ghettos. That's why It is an important novel also for adults and highly recommended for young schoolchildren., which also highlights the value of literature and reading as an escape and learning formula.
There are plenty of judgments and a lack of commitment from the institutions, as well as a social conscience, of course. Care Santos has built a story that gives voice to issues that many only see on the news.
About the author
Care Santos was born in Mataró (Barcelona) in 1970. Although she also writes for adults, she has a great selection of children's and young adult literature. Likewise, she has developed essays, literary criticism, poetry, and short fiction. He trained in Law and Hispanic Philology, and has also worked as a journalist (ABC, El Mundo). He has an abundant body of work and has accumulated many awards, such as the Edebé, the Barco de Vapor, the Gran Angular, the Alandar, the Ramon Llull Award for Catalan Letters in 2014, the Nadal Award in 2017 or the Cervantes Chico Award in 2020. .
They have a fairly fast pace of work and have written a lot in different genres. Among his fiction books is Wheatfield with crows (1999) Hot dogs (2000) Laluna.com (2003) the eyes of the wolf (2004) Irina's ring (2005) The death of Venus (2007) arcane (2007) Bel: Love beyond death (2009) Closed rooms (2011) The air you breathe (2013) Chocolate craving (2014), and anthologies of stories such as Outdoor (2003) and Kill the father (2004)