The Truth About Alice by Jennifer Mathieu
Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary
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Everyone has a lot to say about Alice Franklin, and
it’s stopped mattering whether it’s true. The rumors started at a party when Alice supposedly had sex with two guys in one night. When school starts everyone almost forgets about Alice until one of those guys, super-popular Brandon, dies in a car wreck that was allegedly all Alice’s fault. Now the only friend she has is a boy who may be the only other person who knows the truth, but is too afraid to admit it. Told from the perspectives of popular girl Elaine, football star Josh, former outcast Kelsie, and shy genius Kurt, we see how everyone has a motive to bring – and keep – Alice down.
- The changing PoVs.
- The realness.
- Amazing themes.
The Bad
- Nothing. Absolutely nothing.
The Gif
Whenever I first started reading this, I totally thought, "teenagers aren't this bad" and rolled my eyes a few times. But then the realization smacked me in the face that teenagers are this bad and so are we. This book was such an eye opener. Sure, it held onto cliches and stereotypes, but it worked. The Truth About Alice was a brilliant and sad tale that left me with a smile as I finished it.
I'm really into character driven stories. The way that the author tells this story is perfect for that. There are a handful of characters that you read from their point of view. It gives you all sorts of angles into the plot. I thought it was absolutely brilliant. Because of that, you get to know all of the characters fairly well. The character I had the most love/hate relationship with was Kelsie. At first, I hated her. But then I just pitied her. Kurt was definitely my favorite, and his parts were my favorites.
This book handles a lot of issues so well. It doesn't sugar coat things. It serves them up as honest as it gets. It made me have a lot of respect for the book and the author.
In a world where we can't go a day without hearing about someone being bullied, The Truth About Alice serves as the perfect cautionary tale that still manages to give hope. It's such a quick read that you'll read it one sitting. You won't regret it, either. Fans of Young Adult contemporary fiction, welcome to your new obsession.
I'm really into character driven stories. The way that the author tells this story is perfect for that. There are a handful of characters that you read from their point of view. It gives you all sorts of angles into the plot. I thought it was absolutely brilliant. Because of that, you get to know all of the characters fairly well. The character I had the most love/hate relationship with was Kelsie. At first, I hated her. But then I just pitied her. Kurt was definitely my favorite, and his parts were my favorites.
This book handles a lot of issues so well. It doesn't sugar coat things. It serves them up as honest as it gets. It made me have a lot of respect for the book and the author.
In a world where we can't go a day without hearing about someone being bullied, The Truth About Alice serves as the perfect cautionary tale that still manages to give hope. It's such a quick read that you'll read it one sitting. You won't regret it, either. Fans of Young Adult contemporary fiction, welcome to your new obsession.
**I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. My thanks to Jennifer Mathieu and NetGalley.
I've been meaning to check out this book since is popping up in lots of places on my feeds! I'm sort of iffy about different POV, but when they are done well, they are brilliant :)
ReplyDeleteIt is so worth it! The differing PoVs work really well. :)
DeleteI agree, this book was very well-written. I wasn't sure I would like it when I started, but it was good. I loved the different POVs and I liked that they didn't sound alike, it was easy to remember which character's pov I was reading from. I also liked Kurt!
ReplyDeleteIt is very honest and realistic.
Wonderful review!
We had exactly the same experience, Stephanie! You're so right; the characters all had their own voice. I think that's why the switching PoVs didn't bother me at all. It definitely added an extra element to the story that I loved. Kurt made me smile. :)
DeleteThank you! :)