Book review #12: The Truth-Teller's Tale by Sharon Shinn

[amergina]

Book: The Truth-Teller's Tale Author: Sharon Shinn 304 Pages Short Thoughts: The second in a trilogy (of sorts) of young adult fantasy books. (I reviewed the first here.) Sweet book, delightful to read.

From the cover:

Innkeeper’s daughters Adele and Eleda are “mirror twins”—identical twins whose looks are reflections of each other’s—and their special talents are like mirrors, too. Adele is a Safe-Keeper, entrusted with hearing and never revealing others’ secrets; Eleda is a Truth-Teller, who cannot tell a lie when asked a direct question. The town of Merendon relies on the twins, no one more than their best friend, Roelynn Karro, whose strict, wealthy father is determined to marry her off to the prince. When the girls are seventeen, a handsome dancing-master and his apprentice come to stay at the inn, and thus begins a chain of romance, mistaken identity, and some very surprising truths and falsehoods.

As in The Safe-Keepers Secret, this tale takes place in the same in a pre-industrial kingdom, where there exist Safe-Keepers, Truth-Tellers, and a single Dream-Maker. Safe-Keepers are people to whom anyone can come and unburden a secret. The Safe-Keeper will never tell. Truth-Tellers are people compelled to tell what is true. The knowledge of a truth comes to them, and they are obligated to tell. They do not lie. The Dream-Maker is a person to whom life has been exceedingly cruel. They have personally suffered great tragedy, but others around them find their dreams coming true. The Dream-Maker travels around the kingdom, hoping that the good luck will rub off onto others.

We briefly see the main character of the previous book, Fiona, older and in a different role than that of a Safe-Keeper. We also get to know the "new" Dream-Maker, Melinda, as she comes and stays at the twin's parent's Inn every Wintermoon.

The book is told in first person, from the point of view of Eleda, a Truth-Teller and twin to Adele, a Safe-Keeper. It chronicles their lives as inn keeper's daughters (and that of their friend Roelynn, daughter of a wealthy and unpleasant merchant) as they grow to teens. The latter part of the book focuses on their 17th year, the coming of a dance-master and his handsome apprentice to the town, the budding romances that form for all three girls, and the trouble is causes.

As with all Shinn novels, the writing is superb and delightful. Shinn's writing is so tight. The characterization of Eleda and Adele as twins, so alike and yet so different, is masterfully done, as is the portrayal of sibling affection and anger. The first forays into sexuality are not completely without danger, and serious subjects are handled delicately and do provide a cautionary tale for young adult readers.

The last half of the book reminds me a lot of 12th Night by Shakespeare in the way it plays out. The romances are delightful and the story ends happily.

This was another one of those read-in-a-day books for me, partly because it is short (being YA) but mostly because Shinn's writing propelled me forward.