Colors of Truth

Two girls, one black and one white, each living in the same neighborhood but in different worlds, find their lives intertwined one hot summer in Texas in the 1950s. Caroline, the white girl, has taken her privileges for granted. Pearlie, the black girl has learned to keep to herself. Violence in the form of rape and death bring the two together. Gersham Rabinowitz, a holocaust survivor,tries to help the girls navigate the trouble times, but none of them can foresee the life-changing consequences.

Colors of Truth follows the stories of Caroline and Pearlie, two teenage girls growing up in Texas in the 1950s. Though both girls are the same age and growing up in the same town, their lives are very different. Caroline is a white girl, living on a farm with her parents and younger brother and sister. Pearlie is a black girl, living with her parents and siblings. She attends a different school than Caroline, though they do ride the same bus to their schools. She and her family also work in the cotton fields in Caroline's family's farm in the summer. With alternating narrative voices, the reader learns about the events of one summer, when Caroline and Pearlie's lives become intertwined.

Paula Paul is the award-winning author of more than 30 novels, including the acclaimed and bestselling Alexandra Gladstone historical mystery series. Among her awards are the Texas Institute of Letters Award, a Willa Award, a Readers' Favorite Award, and a National Press Women Award for fiction. She lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico