Confession of a Storyteller

by Hila Colman

When she learns that her idolized music teacher is involved in a "mundane" relationship, Annie, hurt and feeling betrayed, allows an accusation of improper conduct against her teacher to stand unchallenged.

117 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 1984

About the author

Born in New York, Colman attended Radcliffe College where she honed her writing skills before embarking on a literary career.

Colman also wrote under the pseudonym Teresa Crayder.

Reviews

[Danielle · Rating 3 out of 5]

A serendipitous find at a thrift store, this is only my third Hila Colman.

In this slim volume, Annie is twelve and becomes enamored with the new music teacher Miss Jones, whom Annie sees as wonderfully different, not caring about fancy clothes or makeup or men. Annie herself finds the idea of kissing yucky and gross, while her thirteen-year-old friend now has a boyfriend and goes on dates. Annie thinks she and Miss Jones are alike, and is hurt, angry, confused, and jealous when Miss Jones falls in love. Annie herself is also confused about her neighbor, Brian.

Annie is a storyteller, and doesn't think of herself as a liar. Sometimes she compulsively says things she wishes were true... Eventually, she does something she shouldn't and it snowballs.

I think if I had read this at ten or eleven, I might have been mystified by Annie, but also related to her in some ways.