Error loading page.
Try refreshing the page. If that doesn't work, there may be a network issue, and you can use our self test page to see what's preventing the page from loading.
Learn more about possible network issues or contact support for more help.

Tru and Nelle

Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
1 of 1 copy available
Long before they became famous writers, Truman Capote (In Cold Blood) and Harper Lee (To Kill a Mockingbird) were childhood friends in Monroeville, Alabama. This fictionalized account of their time together opens at the beginning of the Great Depression, when Tru is seven and Nelle is six. They love playing pirates, but they like playing Sherlock and Watson-style detectives even more. It’s their pursuit of a case of drugstore theft that lands the daring duo in real trouble. Humor and heartache intermingle in this lively look at two budding writers in the 1930s South.
  • Creators

  • Series

  • Publisher

  • Release date

  • Formats

  • Languages

  • Levels

  • Reviews

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Narrator Catherine Taber's Southern accent conjures up the small Alabama town where Nelle Harper Lee and Truman Capote met as children. Taber's accent intensifies, and her timbre becomes youthful as she embodies the two young people. At the story's opening, Taber portrays tomboy Nelle with a roughness that makes it perfectly believable when Tru first mistakes her for a boy. Nelle's first impression of Tru is based on his soft tones, sailor suit, and scent of soap from New Orleans. Despite the tough start, deftly reflected in Taber's performance, the two strike up a friendship. As the duo investigates mysteries and stands up to the town bullies, Taber evokes the familiar characters as well as the menace and tenderness of Lee's later book, TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD. S.W. © AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine
    • Publisher's Weekly

      May 30, 2016
      The real-life childhood friendship of authors Harper Lee and Truman Capote takes center stage in this middle grade novel, featuring an entertaining performance by actress Taber. As a native of Georgia, Taber comes by the regional accent honestly and does not exaggerate it simply for effect. Her voice conveys the main characters’ excitement as they sleuth around their small Alabama town to solve a mystery. Taber nails the fierce tomboy nature of Nelle (Harper Lee) and offers a breathier, more high-pitched voice for Truman, who sometimes drops his voice to nearly a whisper. And if the adult characters all sound more or less the same, isn’t that how children perceive grown-ups? Middle-grade readers and their parents alike will enjoy this charismatic audio performance. Ages 7–10. A Houghton Mifflin Harcourt hardcover.

    • Publisher's Weekly

      December 14, 2015
      Tru is a newcomer in Monroeville, Ala., and his city ways and fey affectations don’t help the seven-year-old fit in. Nelle has lived in the small Southern town her whole life, but her tomboy tendencies make her a kind of outsider, too. Neighbors and fast friends, they look for a mystery to solve, and a break-in at the town pharmacy offers them their chance. Nelle and Tru are inspired by Harper Lee and Truman Capote; Neri (Hello, I’m Johnny Cash) evokes their friendship and fortitude with brio, but the constraints of real life and Lee’s prior fictionalization of it in To Kill a Mockingbird seem to limit his freedom to invent. Nelle’s father is wise and heroic, and Nelle and Tru are essentially free of racial prejudice; 50-plus years on, this, along with the portrayal of the Klan as equal parts buffoonish and scary, feels naïve, even considering the age group Neri is targeting. Still, readers already familiar with To Kill a Mockingbird should appreciate this fictional detour into the world of a young Harper Lee. Ages 7–10. Agent: Edward Necarsulmer IV, Dunow, Carlsen & Lerner Literary Agency.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

Languages

  • English

Levels

  • ATOS Level:4.7
  • Lexile® Measure:690
  • Interest Level:4-8(MG)
  • Text Difficulty:3

Loading