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    The Truth as Told by Mason Buttle
    The Truth as Told by Mason Buttle
    The Truth as Told by Mason Buttle
    Audiobook6 hours

    The Truth as Told by Mason Buttle

    Written by Leslie Connor

    Narrated by Andrew Eiden

    4.5/5

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    About this audiobook

    From the critically acclaimed author of Waiting for Normal and All Rise for the Honorable Perry T. Cook, Leslie Connor, comes a deeply poignant and beautifully crafted story about self-reliance, redemption, and hope. 

    Mason Buttle is the biggest, sweatiest kid in his grade, and everyone knows he can barely read or write. Mason’s learning disabilities are compounded by grief. Fifteen months ago, Mason’s best friend, Benny Kilmartin, turned up dead in the Buttle family’s orchard.

    An investigation drags on, and Mason, honest as the day is long, can’t understand why Lieutenant Baird won’t believe the story Mason has told about that day.

    Both Mason and his new friend, tiny Calvin Chumsky, are relentlessly bullied by the other boys in their neighborhood, so they create an underground haven for themselves. When Calvin goes missing, Mason finds himself in trouble again. He’s desperate to figure out what happened to Calvin and, eventually, Benny.

    But will anyone believe him?

    National Book Award Finalist * ALA Schneider Family Book Award * 2019 ALSC Notable Children’s Book * Publishers Weekly Best Books of 2018 * 2019-2020 Nebraska Golden Sower Award * Amazon Best Books of 2018 * Kirkus Best of Children's 2018 * New York Public Library Best Books 2018 * Chicago Public Library Best of the Best Books 2018 * 2018 Nerdy Book Club Middle Grade Winner * South Carolina Junior Book Award Nominee * 2020 Colorado Children's Book Award Nominee * Bank Street Best Children's Book of the Year 2019 (9-12) * 2020 Grand Canyon Reader Award Nominee * 2020-2021 Missouri Association of School Librarians Mark Twain Readers Award Preliminary Nominee * 2020-2021 Indiana Young Hoosier Book Award Nominee *

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherKatherine Tegen Books
    Release dateJun 5, 2018
    ISBN9780062872692
    Author

    Leslie Connor

    Leslie Connor is the author of several award-winning books for children, including two ALA Schneider Family Book Award winners, Waiting for Normal and The Truth as Told by Mason Buttle, which was also selected as a National Book Award finalist. Her other books include All Rise for the Honorable Perry T. Cook, Crunch, and The Things You Kiss Goodbye. She lives in the Connecticut woods with her family and three rescue dogs. You can visit her online at www.leslieconnor.com.

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    Reviews for The Truth as Told by Mason Buttle

    4.5/5

    106 ratings10 reviews

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    • 4/5
      Set in 7th grade, but about 5th grade events. Mason has severe dyslexia, is very large and has a sweating disorder. Best friend has died under mysterious circumstances, in Mason's orchard. Grieving/support school story. Serious bullying, that Mason just takes in stride. He is slow, but steady. Very loyal and likeable friend. Depression and heartache, but this book is also about new friends and a really great teacher, too. And a lovely, lovely dog. And a neglected orchard that's coming back to life again. Oh, sad, sad, so sad in parts, but I guess the hope just has to balance it out.

      Feels like it's set in New England somewhere -- Merrimack is the town, but I can't remember if a state is specified. Extra bonus awesome points for: gay parents that are treated like normal people. The other kids in the SWOOF, who are also treated as valuable, normal people -- including the spitfire girl with Cerebral Palsy. That's refreshing. Also, the astonishing compassion that Mason feels for his tormentors, and his no-nonsense kindness for the runaway girl that his family has taken in.
    • 4/5
      children's middlegrade fiction (4th-8th grade) - friendship, bullying, dealing with loss.
      The main character is a heavyset, dyslexic, synesthetic (seeing feelings as colors), somewhat slow boy who also has a health condition that makes him sweat excessively. He lives in a smallish town in what remains of his family's disrepaired apple orchard; his (bullying) neighbor has an absent father and his classmate is managing (usually very well) to speed around despite her palsy.
      Another moving story from Leslie Connor, I think this might be my favorite of hers so far.
    • 5/5
      Mason Buttle is cursed by a body larger than normal, and he sweats a lot!Despite his size, a group of school mates are bulliles. After getting off the bus, his classmates torment him by throwing apples from the trees that Mason's family once owned.Now, his best friend is dead, and the local police and trying to figure out if Mason did this, or if not, who did kill Benny Kilmartin.When small Calvin Chumsky moves in the area, he chooses Mason for a friend. The unite and are allies against the terrible feel of a hard apple at the back.But, when Calvin Chumsky is missing, as well as Benny, Mason must find a way to unlock his mid that has a very big problem in remembering details. It is imperative to find Calvin before he is blamed for what may have happened to him.This is a wonderful book.
    • 5/5
      Mason Buttle is the butt of jokes at school. He's the biggest in his 7th grade class, he's always sweating and he can hardly read or write with his dyslexia. Bad luck seems to follow him and his family- his grandpa died, then his mom and then his best friend Benny who Mason found at the foot of the apple tree where their tree fort was in the orchard. If life wasn't rough enough, now he is met when he gets off the bus with either a barage of lacrosse balls or apples from his neighbor Matt and his teammates. But then he meets little Calvin Chumpsky, stands up for him when he runs into trouble with the guys and they are instant friends. Mason and Calvin both spend time in the Swoof (social worker's room) at school where there is a very supportive teacher that hooks Mason up with a dictating machine that really helps him get his thoughts out. Maybe with this, he'll have the written story the policeman wants from Mason about what happened the day Benny died. This is an excellent story that brings in many themes for discussion- great for grades 4-6.
    • 4/5
      Mason Buttle isn't your typical kid. He's big and sweaty, and he can't read. So, of course, he's a target for bullies. His family lives on an apple orchard, but they had to sell off parts of it when they had some bad crops, and new housing was built nearby. When Mason gets off the bus every day, boys from the new neighborhood harass him, bombarding him with fallen apples. Mason has other problems. His best friend had died in the apple orchard and was found at the foot of the tree house where the boys had played. The Lieutenant obviously suspects Mason, but he is too naive to realize it.Life gets a little better when he makes friends with Calvin...until...This is a mystery, so I won't give away too much. It explores ideas about family, friendship, bullying, learning differences and people's prejudices about those differences.
    • 2/5
      I wanted to like this book. The voice was good, but felt it could be about 100 pages shorter, it just dragged in the middle.
    • 4/5
      Mason Buttle is a bit of an outsider: his dyslexia, synesthesia, and over-productive sweat glands make finding friends not an easy thing. He's also different from other kids in that his best friend is dead. While making a few new friends, dealing with the disturbing actions of the local bullies, and trying to figure out what the police detective wants from him, Mason - with some help from a wonderfully supportive teacher - finds his way toward the ability to tell his own truth. I nearly abandoned this one after the first few pages because the narrative voice is so choppy. I realize that it's necessary to capture the voice of the main character, but I didn't think I could endure it for an entire novel. I'm glad I stuck with it, though, because the book, as it turns out, is very good. A great portrayal of a kiddo with learning challenges, and a cool mystery as well.
    • 5/5
      Awesome book, about death, love, dogs, friendship, bullying, all surrounding a murder mystery
    • 5/5
      Mason Buttle lives on an apple orchard with his uncle and grandmother. A couple of tough years, including the death of Mason's mother, led them to sell off some of the land to developers. Now the boys from the new development bully Mason, who has learning disabilities and mourns his best friend, lost in what Mason believed was a freak accident.
    • 4/5
      This book deals with so many relevant issues; bullying, special needs children, color synesthesia, friendship, grief, suspicion, pretty much the whole gamut of emotions. Leslie Connor gets how mean and miserable kids can be to those who are different. She writes with humor, compassion, and empathy. Mason Buttle is my new hero. This is an important book that should be read by all age groups.