Belle Teal

Belle Teal is a novel by the American writer Ann M. Martin, published in 2001.

It follows Belle Teal Harper, her mother Adele and her grandmother Belle Teal Rhodes through the girl's fifth-grade year and through the people around them in their town. A new classmate joins the school who is black, and Belle Teal introduces her to her white best friend, which is where much of what the year becomes begins.

Across the book Belle Teal runs into racism, bullying, abuse and death, and she learns that the adults she had trusted are not all as decent as she assumed and cannot always be relied on however much she needs them. She comes out of the year more certain about what she believes is right, and more prepared to stand up for other people as well as for herself. The novel is woven through with the love and support of her friends and family, and it follows her as she is taught, by them and by events, to stand up for herself.