Being True

De: Jacob Z Flores

Narrado por: Mark Westfield

Truman L. Cobbler has not had an easy life. It's bad enough people say he looks like Donkey from Shrek. He also suffered the death of his policeman father and his mother's remarriage to a professional swindler, who cost them everything. Now dirt poor, they live in the barrio of San Antonio, Texas.

When Tru transfers to an inner-city high school halfway through his senior year, he meets Javi Castillo, a popular and hot high school jock. Javi takes an immediate liking to Tru, and the two become friends. The odd pairing, however, rocks the school and sets the cliquish social circles askew. No one knows how to act or what to think when Mr. Popular takes a stand for Mr. Donkey. Will the cliques rise up to maintain status quo and lead Tru and Javi to heartbreak and disaster or will being true to who they are rule the day?

©2014 Jacob Flores (P)2015 Dreamspinner Press

the foundness of love

If you could sum up Being True in three words, what would they be?

romantic, understanding and truth

What did you like best about this story?

Some thing I really liked about the story is that how it shows a part of what is the secret of life and how love can really prosper no matter what

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

maybe the narrator could have shown more expression in his voice

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

totally would love to read it at once unless u are a homophobe then this story is not for u

Any additional comments?

I have taken a lot of interest into the book!

Sweet Story

If you could sum up Being True in three words, what would they be?

A simple but sweet story that makes you smile at the end of the day. Wishful and hopeful.

Anti-bullying story both enhanced and diminished

Is there anything you would change about this book?

The book is told in first person. Yet, the writer's style is better as an omniscient third person narrator. The word choice and phrasing and the many many verbal flourishes don't seem as credible coming from a high school senior.

If you’ve listened to books by Jacob Z Flores before, how does this one compare?

I was actually much more comfortable with his phrasing in When Love Takes Over. Of course the excesses of Provincetown are a great camouflage for a bit over overwrought writing.

Which scene was your favorite?

The protagonists are so young that their physical shows of affection are very muted. The epilogue gives us a great chance to see them in a more erotic, less public time.

Any additional comments?

Listening to a book aloud sometimes highlights the awkwardness of the phrasings and this book has several examples of that, for example "cars' horns blared" sounds much more awkward than "car horns blared" whereas I'd probably not have noticed if I were reading rather than listening.

Narrator Mark Westfield does a commendable job with the narration here giving each character their own "voice" and deftly handling the varying levels of accents some of the Latino characters have. The women's voices are rendered as distinct without taking on the grating falsetto quality so often given them by male narrators. Also there are some special effects of sorts including speeches muffled by shoulders or made hollow by microphones that are well rendered.

Liked it very much n

the storyline is not much different than the other comming out in high school stories i have listened to, but what makes it stand out is the MC that tells the story. He makes u take notice of the story right away and u kind of know within the first few minutes that u will like the story. In the beginning he is kind of fatalistic and funny in the "of course this crappy thing too" kind of way. But he changes with the story and i liked that part - that u witness his thougth-processes getting more and more happy and feel him change. Nicely done and nicely narrated too.

Just loved it

Corney, yes, sweet, yes, tear jerker, yes, listen to it twice, yes!! The narrator is perfect. Hispanic men, YUM!😎💞😢🤧💔