The Revealers sequel is getting young readers thinking — and talking — about their choices, and their voices, in a connected world.

True Shoes cover 6-18-2013Since its publication in 2012, True Shoes has been read and discussed by middle schools in over 20 U.S. states — even in Cape Town, South Africa.

Developed out of thousands of conversations and interactions with middle schoolers through Doug Wilhelm’s school visits with The Revealers, True Shoes is a powerfully engaging novel, with a lively diversity of characters, that brings to life the intense range of choices — and consequences — that young people face in today’s networked world.

Click on the True Shoes tab above for more — including Novel Connections, the free, standards-linked curriculum package for using the book in middle-school classrooms, with selected additional resources, to explore online choice-making in creative and powerful ways.

“The story is so lovingly crafted that it captured my imagination.”
Margaret Herb, Project Challenge teacher — Ritenour Middle School, St. Louis

“It is excellent to the highest power. I liked it even more than The Revealers.”
Nancy Donofrio, language arts teacher —Birchland Park Middle School, East Longmeadow, MA

“True Shoes is TREMENDOUS! I can do a lesson based around the characters of the story, giving students a chance to interact without ‘revealing their own stuff.’ Marvelous.”
Lynne Ellis, guidance counselor — Litchfield (NH) Middle School

The Revealers may well be the most-used novel in American middle schools today. Here's why:

REVEALERS front coverIt deals realistically with bullying, a huge and urgent issue — but it doesn’t preach. Its characters are true to life, as are its middle-school intensities, confusions, and cruelties. It has humor! Its story connects with young adults from all backgrounds, at all reading levels ... and it keeps you reading to the last page.

Far more than 1,000 middle schools, across the U.S. and internationally, have done reading-and-discussion projects with The Revealers — many of them “One School, One Book” initiatives. For over a decade, this website has collected the best resources those schools have generated: briefings on model projects, unit study plans, discussion questions, videos, a presentation on results, a teacher’s guide — and much more.

Click on the Revealers tab above, to explore this wealth of resources about a novel that keeps on making a difference each year for new readers and school communities. The Revealers is the middle-school selection of Words that Heal: Using Children’s Literature to Address Bullying, the curriculum resource from the Anti-Defamation League’s nationally acclaimed World of Difference program.

"Picture a troubled teen quietly removing this book from the school library shelves, then sitting down ... and devouring it."

Prince front cover high resSo begins an excellent review of The Prince of Denial, Doug Wilhelm’s newest novel for young-adult readers, in the winter issue of Foreword Reviews, the nation's premier review journal of independent publishing.

“Maybe the teenager thought he was the only one hiding a terrible secret about his home life,” reviewer Sheila M. Trask continues — “but after a few pages of Doug Wilhelm’s accessible, educational novel, he will realize there are others just like him, and that there is hope.”

The Prince of Denial is told by Casey, a seventh grader who’s doing his best to hold things together after his family has come apart. He lives with his dad, and it’s never okay to talk about what’s really happening at home — where Casey rushes after school so he can clean things up, and throw away the empty bottles in the living room.

It was important for me to have everything under control when my dad came home, Casey says in Chapter 1. I never knew how he would be, so everything had to be just right.

This is the story of what happens when one regular kid, with help from two good friends and one unusual grownup, comes to the edge of speaking a truth that could change his life — or wreck what’s left of his family.

The results are compellingly tension-filled and complex, says Foreword Reviews — and ultimately more satisfying than an ending that ties everything up neatly.

You can read the full review here. You can order copies through Amazon here, or at any bookstore. The Prince of Denial is distributed by the Independent Publishers Group: for discount bulk orders, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , or call 1-800-888-IPG1.

To learn more, or arrange a school visit, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .