The Truth About AliceAuthor: Jennifer Mathieu
Publisher: Roaring Book Press, 208 pages
Publication Date: June 3, 2014
*ARC received from publisher via NetGalley
From Goodreads:
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.
Review:
What an excellent book. To be honest, I was surprised by how much I liked it. The book begins with the story of Alice and Brandon. Brandon's the most popular guy in school, the star quarterback in a small Texas town (population 3,000). The story is that Alice slept with both Brandon and another guy at a party (the other guy is in college). At school, people slowly start excluding her from things. Then Brandon is killed in a car accident and it's apparently because Alice was sending him inappropriate texts. That's when Alice is completely shut out and even more rumors surface. The book is told through four different POVS: Elaine, the most popular girl in school; Kelsie, Alice's best friend; Josh, Brandon's best friend; and Kurt, the weirdest, smartest guy in school. The voices are distinct and even without the chapter headings telling me who was writing it, I still would have known. I thought it was actually quite brilliant that the story is told from everyone's POV except for Alice's (we finally get Alice's POV in the last chapter).
My heart broke for Alice. Living in a small town where everyone knows everyone's business, there was no way for her to get away from this. Even her best friend dumps her. She goes from being pretty popular to having absolutely no friends. At all. Everywhere she goes people talk about her, there's a Slut Stall, where people write horrible things in black sharpie. But amazingly, after reading from their POVs, there really isn't anyone to hate. They're terribly flawed, but so real. The characters were so well-developed that even when I disliked them for being hypocritical and mean, I could still understand them and why they did what they did (even Kelsie, who I wanted to smack in the face). My favorite perspective was Kurt's, and I loved how his friendship with Alice developed over the course of the book.
The Truth About Alice is an emotional, powerful, compelling, and relatable book that every teenager (actually, everyone) should read.
Posted by: Pam
I seen this book on Netgalley and I had second thoughts so I didn't request it but it sounds like a great read. Great review!
ReplyDeleteI was surprised by how much I liked this book. ~Pam
DeleteI am glad you enjoyed it. I agree, I thought the message was a really important one and it was well delivered. My only reservation was some of the roles were a bit cliche but it fit the story well.
ReplyDeleteAshley @ The Quiet Concert
I agree, the characters were a bit stereotypical, but they all were portrayed in a way that made them more nuanced and complex, so I didn't mind. ~Pam
DeleteI've been meaning to read this and it sounds that I won't be disappointed. I like how it's told in multiple POVs. I'm pretty interested at how the story is told through that since it excludes Alice herself (well not until the final chapter I guess, as you said)... and its sounds like the characters are nicely written. thanks for the great review! I can't wait to pick this one up :D
ReplyDeleteczai @ the Blacksheep Project
I thought the multiple POVs (and excluding Alice's POV) was such an interesting way to tell this story. Hope you enjoy it! ~Pam
DeleteBrilliant review! So happy we get to hear from Alice in the last chapter. I am about 70% of the way through this and absolutely loving it so far. My heart is definitely breaking for Alice right now <3
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear you're enjoying it too. I can't wait to read your review! ~Pam
DeleteI've debated reading this one. I just don't know that I want to invest in it, because it would be an emotional read and I'm sure it would upset me - like you - and I'd want to slap some people. :) I have such low tolerance for people (even in books) being mean and gossiping. Great, great review!
ReplyDeleteI felt the same way, I kept putting off reading it because I thought it would be too much of an "issue" book and too emotional, but it was so well written, I really liked it. ~Pam
DeleteYay! I'm glad you decided to dive in, and am even happier that you enjoyed it. I loved the way the voices were so distinct, and thought that leaving Alice's POV completely out of the story at the end was so original and powerful. Also, I agree that all of the characters were almost...understandable...even if they were doing/saying horrible things. So good. So realistic. I hope everybody reads this one. Great review!
ReplyDeleteI completely agree. At first I wanted to read Alice's POV, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized how brilliant that was on the part of the author (although I loved getting that last chapter). ~Pam
DeleteI really enjoyed this book as well! I thought it was so well done. I was a little concerned about the different POVs, but the author did a great job of making the voices distinct. I'm not going to lie though. I freaking hated Kelsie. But yes, I agree with you that they were very real. And Kurt was so adorable! Loved him! And Alice was so strong. I was so impressed with her ability to cope with such a horrible situation.
ReplyDelete