The Skull of Truth
core novel 1997 Magic Shop
Record
| First published | 1997 |
|---|---|
| Original language |  EN |
| Work type | novel |
| Canon status | core |
| Reader rating | 3.89 (1,623 ratings, collected 2026-11-01) |
| First-edition ISBN | 9780152754570 |
| Internal chronology | 4 |
Synopsis
Charlie Eggleston is a sixth grader who lies about almost everything. One day he wanders into Mr. Elives' shop on the far side of Tucker's Swamp, looking for a phone, and leaves with a wisecracking skull that he was not supposed to take. The skull is a remnant of the jester Yorick, and it carries a curse: anyone near it can speak only the truth. Charlie, who has never been able to stop lying, suddenly finds himself telling his family, his teachers and his classmates exactly what he thinks. Nobody believes him, and he faces some awkward and difficult situations.
Where it sits
- Universe: Magic Shop
- Series: Magic Shop core; position 4 of 5 in the series' recorded order
- Author: Bruce Coville
Notes
- From the series record (Magic Shop): Five stand-alone adventures in which different children buy a magical object or creature from Mr. Elives' mysterious shop.
Neighbouring works
Publication order and internal chronology are tracked as two separate orderings, but they resolve to the exact same sequence for this book, so one combined line is shown instead of two identical ones.
- Reading order, within the series Magic Shop: position 4 of 5: previous Jennifer Murdley's Toad (1992) · next Juliet Dove, Queen of Love (2003)
Sources
- Wikipedia: Magic Shop (series)
- FictionDB (Harcourt hardcover, September 1997)
- Kids Book Series: The Skull of Truth
← Magic Shop dossier · All universes
Part of the Library. Fields without an identified source are omitted, never guessed.