ALL THE TRUTH I CAN STAND
A Novel
By MASON STOKES
For Ash, life will forever be divided into before and after.
A high school senior, Ash has recently lost his mother and been ostracized by his friends. While working on the local university’s production of Oklahoma!, Ash is slowly drawn out of his shell by Jenna, a straight-talking student reporter, and Shane, the star of the show. Shane is talented, magnetic, and sensitive, but also fragile. As their relationship blossoms, Ash is certain they can heal each other’s wounds.
But when Shane is brutally assaulted, his death sparks a national conversation about gay rights. Jenna and Ash find themselves learning truths they’d rather not know and questioning whether they knew Shane at all.
A work of speculative historical fiction for young adults, All the Truth I Can Stand reimagines a pivotal moment from the gay rights movement of the 1990s. Author Mason Stokes explores, with great care and empathy, all the good and all the bad that can come to pass when an imperfect person is made into a symbol.
“An auspicious debut . . . 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. A tender fictionalization that sheds light on human complexity.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“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
—Rachel Person, Northshire Bookstore
“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