diff --git a/string_utils.py b/string_utils.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5e1e161
--- /dev/null
+++ b/string_utils.py
@@ -0,0 +1,24 @@
+"""String utility helpers."""
+
+
+def truncate(s: str, max_length: int) -> str:
+    if max_length < 0:
+        raise ValueError("max_length must be non-negative")
+    return s[:max_length]
+
+
+def capitalize_words(s: str) -> str:
+    return ' '.join(word.capitalize() for word in s.split())
+
+
+def count_vowels(s: str) -> int:
+    return sum(1 for c in s.lower() if c in 'aeiou')
+
+
+def reverse_words(s: str) -> str:
+    return ' '.join(s.split()[::-1])
+
+
+def is_palindrome(s: str) -> bool:
+    cleaned = ''.join(c.lower() for c in s if c.isalnum())
+    return cleaned == cleaned[::-1]