From: write 2 right
Judie Porter writes a very unusual tale in her book, Coco Twain Tells the Truth. Her skill rings with such a captivating style that I was forced to read the entire novel from beginning to end – in one sitting.
There are two main characters here - both being young girls residing in a small, quiet town. They are the best of friends. Through very unusual circumstances, they become involved in a crazy adventure with escaped criminals. This is a story about deceit, and honesty… about love in the strangest of circumstances.
I highly recommend Coco Twain Tells the Truth to anyone looking for something a little different to sink their teeth into.
ISBN#: 1413769624
Author: Judie Porter
Publisher: Publish America, Inc.
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From Book Ideas & Reader's Room
Publish America, 2005
ISBN: 1413769624
On a hot day in August 1958, when Coco Twain arrives at the Reynolds house with Sonja and her mother Daisy they have a surprise encounter with two escaped convicts. The men, Buford and Al are hungry and desperate. Daisys a lousy cook and when they get a taste of her runny eggs and uncooked sausage, Coco and Sonja figure they wont stay long. It just so happens that Buford is a great cook so he takes Daisy and the girls shopping and cooks up a meal. Daisy is very young single mom and life in tiny little Whitchit, Oklahoma, lacks the excitement she craves. Instead of turning the convicts in she allows them to stay at her secluded farmhouse. Much to Sonja and Cocos horror, she falls for Buford over their long weekend of captivity.
Eventually they let Coco go back home and Daisy makes up a story about why the men are staying with her. For the rest of the summer Coco must deal with her own confusion about the situation. She knows what Daisy is doing is wrong but she has also gotten to know the two men and is no longer scared of them. Mostly shed like the whole thing to just go away. But its not about to and shes going to have to deal with it, along with helping Sonja cope with having two convicts living with her.
Is it wrong to care about convicted criminals? Are they human beings like the rest of us? Coco struggles with these questions throughout the book. The last thing she ever expected that hot August day was to meet two escaped convicts who would change her life forever. Coco Twain Tells the Truth is a brave and perhaps controversial look at the gray area between right and wrong. Porters details about life in the late 50s in a sleepy little Oklahoma town add a fascinating richness to this sometimes humorous, sometimes tragic story.
Copyright (c) 2005 by Peggy Tibbetts
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Peggy Tibbetts
Managing Editor & Columnist for Writing-World.com
http://www.writing-world.com
Author of THE ROAD TO WEIRD and RUMORS OF WAR
http://www.peggytibbetts.net
From BookLoons
| Coco Twain Tells the Truth by Judith Porter | Order: USA Can | |
| PublishAmerica, 2005 (2005) Paperback | ||
 Reviewed by Ricki Marking-Camuto | ||
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| In this light-hearted coming-of-age novel, Judith Porter tells the story of Coco Twain, a small-town Oklahoma girl whose life is forever changed when two escaped convicts hole up in her best friend's house. Coco is staying with Sonya for a weekend while her parents are visiting the city. Upon arriving home, Coco, Sonya, and Sonya's mother Daisy, discover two men hiding in the living room. Undaunted, Daisy prepares the men a meal as the girls listen to the radio and learn that Buford and Al are two of seven criminals who broke out of a Tulsa jail that day. The women, against Coco's better judgment, decide to hide the men. Soon, Daisy begins to fall in love with Buford while Coco learns of the gruff Al's softer side, forming a friend for life. Throughout Coco Twain Tells the Truth, Coco is faced with many difficult moral decisions. Although she stumbles some along the way, Coco develops into a fine young woman, by listening to her heart and listening to her elders. And Porter gets across many positive lessons without ever becoming didactic. Though many coming-of-age novels are more in depth than this one, what sets it apart is that it is aimed at younger readers than usual. I recommend it to younger teens, who are about to facing many turning points in their lives which will eventually lead to defining who they are, just as Coco's summer with Al did for her. | ||
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| Find more Teens books on our Shelves or in our book Reviews | ||
From TCM Publishing: Young Adult
Coco Twain Tells the Truth Judith Porter
PublishAmerica
ISBN: 1-4137-6962-4
Young Adult
Reviewed by Tami Brady
Thirteen year old Coco Twain loves hanging out at her best friend Sonja Reynolds house. Sonja’s Mom is young and interesting. Daisy Reynolds was not at all like Coco’s Mom who named the girl after Coco Chanel because it sounded French and who claimed they were relatives of Mark Twain despite that author’s real name was Samuel Clemens.
While spending a weekend at the Reynold’s Coco finds herself in a strange situation. Two escaped convicts, Buford Markman and Al Hooper, suddenly take up residence at the Reynold’s house. Instead of calling the police, Sonja’s Mom simply starts making these guys breakfast and giving them Sonja’s Grandfather’s clothes. Coco Twain Tells the Truth is a story about a time when people didn’t lock their doors. A time when helping your fellow neighbour or someone down on their luck was the right thing to do. Nonetheless, the reader can’t help but think how absolutely insane the girls are for not running to the police.
Coco Twain Tells the Truth by Judith Porter is available at Amazon
From Florida:
From Florida:
In 1958, fourteen-year-old Coco Twain and her best friend Sonja Reynolds live in
Alternately frightened and fascinated by the two men,
Judith Porter’s coming-of-age novel is written with wry humor and the kind of detail that makes the town of
Arliss Ryan, author of Kingsley House (
From Cape Cod:
Never a False Note, June 27, 2005
In "Coco Twain Tells the Truth" Judith Porter has tapped into a refreshing spring of adolescent verisimilitude that produces an enjoyable and memorable reading experience for adults young and old. Coco Twain, a likeable fourteen-year-old girl living in the town of Whitchit, Oklahoma, in 1958, stumbles upon an adult world populated by two escaped convicts and a woman anxious to seize upon what may be her last chance for love. Coco and her best friend Sonja are forced to cope with such adult issues as loyalty, loneliness, and tolerance, but they never cease to think and act like teen-agers. The adults -- Buford and Al and Sonja's mother Daisy -- remain always mature in their actions and emotions, as these are filtered through the eyes and mind of Coco. She comes across as wise, funny, and completely credible. Her solid common sense and willingness to adjust her thinking prove to be her ticket out of Whitchit. Details of small town life are skillfully incorporated throughout, and the Rainbow girls' trip to the federal penetentiary at McAlester is a small masterpiece of comic invention. This debut novel by Ms. Porter promises more good stories from her pen in the future.
Clint Hull
From Illinois:
Review for
How would you feel if you came home one day and found two escaped convicts in hiding in your house? Most of us would be terrified! Not so with the flamboyant Daisy Reynolds. She is not about to cower in fright and let these two men take over her household.
Coco Twain is caught up in this intrigue when she spends the weekend with Daisy’s teenage daughter, Sonja.
As the story unfolds, author, Judith Porter gives you a peek into the minds of the two very different teenage girls. Sonja, aware of her budding sexuality is bored with "small town
Can these two criminals make a difference in the lives of these three people?
The ending will surprise you.
I highly recommend this book to everyone who enjoys a down to earth, home spun story of the dreams, hopes and fears of every day people, one of which just might live next door to you!
Saundra Julian, Author
From Rhode Island
When Buford and Al escape from the penitentiary with four others, they land in Whitchit Daisy’s little house far enough from town to hole up without notice. Clean up the two cons and the mean strategist Buford displays a talent for cooking; Al , immensely overweight, shows himself to be a talented artist, and articulate confidante of
Judie Porter has invested unique qualities into her characters—qualities that have real implications for the story. Her dialogue is witty, the setting clearly defined as an innocent ‘50’s tableau, and
I found the book to be a concise, quick read, one that is satisfying in characters and plot, with enough surprises to produce a conclusion that is well-earned.
------may appeal most to a young female audience but readers of either sex, or any age can connect with the plight of Porter’s characters who are forced to share their time, their hopes and their lives that hot summer of 1958.
Jack Galvin (author of 'Within Reach: My Everest Story' Puffin Books, 2000)
From Canada:
A very unusual book with such a captivating style that I was forced to read it from beginning to end in one sitting. Two young girls residing in a small, quiet town are the best of friends. Through very unusual circumstances they become involved in an adventure with escaped criminals. This is a story about deceit, and honesty about love in the strangest of circumstances. I highly recommend 'Coco Twain Tells the Truth' to anyone looking for something a little different to sink their teeth into.
~ Lillian Brummet, co-author of the book Trash Talk - a guide for anyone concerned about his or her impact on the environment. (
