The Truth Commission by Susan Juby

Every year I like to read one or two Red Maple books to my grade 7 and 8 classes.  This year I've really struggled to pick one of the ten that I could read out loud to a class.  The nominees this year seem to be a bit more mature than other years.  I thought I would pre-read The Truth Commission to see if it might be a good read aloud.  Definitely not!

The Truth Commission is about three friends that attend a special art high school.  Normandy Pale is writing a story for a school assignment and The Truth Commission is that story.  Norm has two best friends Neil and Dusk.  The trio decide to seek out the truth among their fellow students.  Eventually the truths begin to unravel within the group.  Norm has some major family issues that no one talks about, including her parents.  When Norm's sister moves back home from college though it may just be too much to handle.

I found The Truth Commission to be very mature for a grade 7 and 8 level.  I thought some of the truths were way too mature.  One guideline that I try to use when picking books for that level is making sure that the characters are at the most 14 years old.  Norm and friends are 17 years old.  Because this book is a Red Maple book I will purchase it for my school library but I will probably let borrowers know that it's pretty mature before they start reading.