2025 Kansas NEA Reading Circle List
★ “Keen prose meditates on the nature of violence fueled by bigotry and its effects, making for a layered and provocative telling that will encourage readers to critically examine their own behaviors and perceptions.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review
“Even though the prologue signals that tragedy lies ahead, the novel doesn’t feel predictable—instead, it carries an eerie sense of dread. Ash’s closeness to Shane carefully brings Shane’s story into vivid focus without conveying a feeling that Ash is speaking for him…A tender fictionalization that sheds light on human complexity.” —Kirkus Reviews
“Stokes’s writing pulls no punches as he touches on the difficulties of grieving a real person when the media is determined to smooth away their sharper edges… the novel is very grounded in its historical moment; Stokes’s characters emphasize how connections build identity and the different ways people are vulnerable… (a) heartbreaking historical story about grief, legacy, and the complexities of being human. Recommended.”—School Library Journal
“Stokes has done an excellent job of incorporating real life into his fictional narrative.” —Booklist
“Stokes sticks close to the facts of the real-life murder of Matthew Shepard, whose tragic death and complicated life are explored through Shane as a proxy, and the book ultimately asks the reader how perfect a victim must be to become a martyr and what we lose of a person’s true self when we cast them as a saint.” —Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
“A buoyant account of first love, made especially poignant by the brutality of what follows. All the Truth I Can Stand is riveting.” — Eliot Schrefer, National Book Award Finalist
“A masterful blend of wholehearted fiction and absolutely essential American history.” —Steve Sheinkin, New York Times bestselling author
“The novel connects personal identity with cultural and national concerns…Personal loss becomes entangled in the gay community’s historical fight for recognition and equality in [All the Truth I Can Stand].” —Foreword Reviews
“This rivetingly beautiful young adult novel grapples deeply with tragedy and the human desire to turn suffering into a symbol. Based loosely on a fictionalized version of Matthew Shepard’s murder in 1990s Wyoming, and told through the eyes of a struggling closeted teen in town, this is a gorgeously sad coming of age story that is deeply thoughtful about mythmaking and reality.”—Rachel Person, Northshire Bookstore
“An incredible read that brings Shepard fully to life… Shane’s story is treated with care and honesty throughout the book… The plot is driving and the dialogue feels natural… powerful and gut wrenching. A brutal but important read.”—Laura Gardner, Youth Services Book Review
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