Tag: Half-Truths

Half-Truths by Carol Baldwin: A Book Review by Kathryn Dover

March 24, 2025

As I’ve said before, I enjoy reading historical fiction novels, and I was especially excited to get to read an ARC of Half-Truths by Carol Baldwin. I first met Mrs. Baldwin at a Write2Ignite conference in 2018, and she walked me through writing my first book review for Write2Ignite. Her advice and encouragement have helped me become a better writer, and I’m excited to get to share in this milestone with her.

Review

Fifteen-year-old Anna Katherine “Katie” Dinsmore aspires to be journalist during a pivotal period of American history. The Korean Conflict has begun, Jim Crow laws are prevalent throughout the South, and the Civil Rights Movement is about to be born. Desiring a better education, Katie decides to leave her family’s tobacco farm and go live with her grandparents in Charlotte, North Carolina. Life with her grandparents, however, is totally different from Katie’s life on the farm. Things become further complicated when she meets her grandmother’s teenage servant, Lillian. The more they get to know each other, the more secrets they discover, and the more questions they have. What caused Katie’s father to become so estranged from his parents? What secrets is Lillian’s grandmother keeping from her? And what half-truths have caused family secrets to be buried for decades?

“Like long, choking fingers, the past strangled our family” (240).

Half-Truths is told from Katie’s point of view, which allows the reader to see her internal thoughts and struggles as well as how her character develops. The novel flows seamlessly from chapter to chapter and keeps the reader engaged. Katie is constantly asking questions throughout the book, and her curiosity drives the story. Both Katie and Lillian must overcome their preconceived notions about each other, and their conflicts are realistic. Katie’s character develops the most, as she learns to be true to herself. I found Katie’s rocky relationship with her grandmother to be one of the most interesting aspects of the story, and the contrast between them is well written.

“Another way to describe a ‘small lie’ is a half-truth.” Grandmother’s words catch me off guard. “We taught your father that half-truths are whole lies” (252).

The theme of half-truths is prevalent throughout the book, as Katie and Lillian continually confront the half-truths they tell and the ones they have been told. They realize how harmful a “small lie” can be (252). While not explicitly stated, Katie and her family are Christians, and the novel contains Christian themes such as the danger of telling lies and biblical references such as the story of the Good Samaritan. The ending left me satisfied, as both Katie and Lillian are pursuing their dreams.

I recommend Half-Truths to teen and young adult readers ages fourteen and up, especially if they enjoy historical fiction. Half-Truths offers a window into a controversial time period, yet the lessons it teaches are applicable today.

Don’t Wait!

You can pre-order Half-Truths today on Barnes and Noble or Amazon. It will be released on April 2.

To order an autographed copy of Half-Truths from Park Road Books in Charlotte, North Carolina, please email: orders@parkroadbooks.com.

Author Interview

Check out my interview with author Carol Baldwin to hear more about Half-Truths!

To connect with Carol, scan this QRC code:

GIVEAWAY!

To be entered into a giveaway for a copy of Half-Truths, please leave a comment on this post by March 27.

Kathryn Dover lives in South Carolina with her family including five cats, a dog, three fish, and many house plants. She recently graduated from Presbyterian College with a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics and was a valedictorian of the Class of 2024. She’s not sure what she wants to do as a career, only that she wants to write, but is trusting that God has a plan for her life to use her in a powerful way. In her free time, she enjoys reading, photography, playing with her pets, and growing plants.

Celebrate Black History Month

February 11, 2019

As part of my research for my YA novel Half-Truths, I read a lot of books.  And I mean A LOT. Read my pitch and I think you’ll understand why:

In the heavily segregated South, fifteen-year-old Kate Dinsmore’s world is shaken when she realizes she’s related to her grandmother’s black housemaid. This knowledge leads Kate to truths that threaten to destroy her family.

Early on I realized that to make this story authentic (as one of my 94-year-old African American experts charged me to do), I not only had to speak to people who lived through the time period, but I had to read books.

Here are several which informed my story. I hope some of them will pique your interest so you will read them too. The order in which they are displayed reflects the order in which I read them; most recent book is on top.

Mothers of Massive Resistance: White Women and the Politics of White Supremacy  Written by North Carolina professor, Elizabeth Gillespie McRae, this book opened my eyes to the role that white women in the South played in maintaining segregation.

Memphis, Martin, and the Mountaintop Alice Faye Duncan’s debut picture book told from the perspective of a young girl who “meets” Martin Luther King.

Eyes on the Prize This excellent book on the Civil Rights decade is written by Juan Williams. If you’re looking for an in-depth overview of the Civil Rights movement, then you’ve come to the right book.

Be Free or Die: The Amazing Story of Robert Smalls’ Escape from Slavery to Union Hero. This is a great panoramic view of South Carolina before, during, and after the Civil War and an eye-opening biography of an amazing man.

Crossing Ebenezer Creek This middle grade novel, based on true events, deepened my understanding of what ex-slaves experienced after “freedom.”

Midnight Without a Moon. This book takes place in Mississippi in the mid-50’s. Linda Williams Jackson’s debut novel uses Emmitt Till’s murder as a background for Rose Lee Carter’s decision not to flee the South. 

Loving vs. Virginia. This is a great curriculum resource written in free verse which shows Mildred and Richard Loving’s struggles to legalize their marriage in Virginia. 

The Lions of Little Rock This classic civil rights book is set in Little Rock, AK in 1958. I now use it as a comp title in my pitch for Half-Truths!

Carver: A Life in Poems. Lillian, my most important secondary character, wants to be a scientist. What better person to model her goals after than George Washington Carver?

Primary Lessons: A Memoir by Sarah Bracey White Sarah grew up in the Jim Crow south and here I share excerpts describing her experiences. 

Dear Senator: A Memoir by the Daughter of Strom Thurmond. This book was a fascinating look into Strom Thurmond’s bi-racial daughter and the many challenges she and her mother faced. I blogged about it extensively. 

The Color of Love. This is an autobiographical account of a boy whose mother falls in love with a black man in the Jim Crow South. 

Mixed: My life in Black and White  A candid autobiography written by Angela Nissel. She describes what it was like to grow up in Philadelphia as a bi-racial child during the second half of the 20th century.

Fly Girl  A beautifully written YA novel about a young black woman who becomes a pilot during WWII.

A Lesson Before Dying. A book review of a powerful book portraying racism in Louisiana in the 1940’s.

 

Here are a few of the books that didn’t make it into this list!

Let me know which books you add to your TBR list!

When Carol is not working on Half-Truths or blogging, you’ll find her traveling, trying to improve her golf game, or playing and reading books to one of her six grandchildren. A new member of the Write2Ignite Team, Carol seeks to serve the Lord with the writing gifts He has given her. She has published two non-fiction books and dozens of newspaper and magazine articles and enjoys teaching writing to teens and adults. For more information, please visit her blog where she reviews and gives away gobs of books!