Thursday, 2 October 2014

Review: The Truth About Alice by Jennifer Mathieu

Title: The Truth About Alice
Author: Jennifer Mathieu
Publisher: Roaring Book Press
Pages: 199
Series: -
Release Date: June 3rd 2014
Where I Got It: Barnes & Noble

Synopsis: Everyone knows Alice slept with two guys at one party.

But did you know Alice was sexting Brandon when he crashed his car?

It's true. Ask ANYBODY.


Rumor has it that Alice Franklin is a slut. It's written all over the bathroom stall at Healy High for everyone to see. And after star quarterback Brandon Fitzsimmons dies in a car accident, the rumors start to spiral out of control.

In this remarkable debut novel, four Healy High students—the girl who has the infamous party, the car accident survivor, the former best friend, and the boy next door—tell all they know.

But exactly what is the truth about Alice? In the end there's only one person to ask: Alice herself.


Jennifer Mathieu

I'm an English teacher, writer, wife, and mom who writes books for and about young adults. My debut novel, THE TRUTH ABOUT ALICE, will be out in the spring of 2014. 

My favorite things include chocolate, pepperoni pizza, and this super hilarious 1980s sitcom about four retired women called The Golden Girls. I can basically quote every episode.

I live with my husband, son, one rescue dog, one fat cat, and another cat that is even fatter than the fat cat.

When it comes to what I read, I love realistic young adult fiction (duh), creative nonfiction, super scandalous tell-all memoirs and unauthorized biographies, and basically anything that hooks me on the first page.

Review

I read this book on September 9th 2014.


"It's true. ASK ANYBODY."

I loved this book. Knowing that this sort of stuff really happens was... hard. It is hard to imagine this can happen to a single person and reading it from all the points of view (the bully, the bystander, the ex-friend, and the witness) was interesting. As a reader, you always want to know what other people's perspective is on the story and I definitely got to know. The story was one you don't want to miss. It's heartbreaking and interesting: something many realistic books lack.

Alice was called many names. Honestly, in the end I was expecting something totally different then what really happened. I'm not going to mention anything, as this is spoiler free. However, I'm sure those of you who have read it know what I'm writing about.

I loved this book and it's characters. They were so typical stereotypes; and that made it so interesting! It was amazing that there were stereotypes because everyone at school is put into stereotypes and usually act the type! So why try to pretend that doesn't exist in school? I loved the fact that the author had her characters this way!

Kelsey was something else; I couldn't believe how she treated her FRIEND. I was appalled at how she could just say things about Alice and think it's ok because she wasn't the one being picked on. She always thought she knew what it was like to be bullied, but that is not excuse to bully someone else. If she knew what it was like, she wouldn't be doing it to her friend.

Kurt was my favourite point of view to read from. He was interesting and had so many secrets surrounding him. I loved how loyal he was to his friends and the little secret between him and "other" (no spoilers, I promise) was so great! I was happy that someone would actually do something for his friends!

Elaine was the popular girl with the infamous party. If I'm not mistaken, she had an eating disorder. Her mother made her count carbs and go to weight watchers with her and I felt bad for her to be honest. No teenager should have to do that and watch her weight because you're still a kid!

Josh was the best friend to Brandon, aka the guy "Alice Franklin killed." Did she really kill him? You have to read to really know. I loved reading Josh's point of view, but I started to feel he had feelings for Brandon. I couldn't really tell if they were more friend feelings, or boyfriend type feelings but they were definitely there. I think the only problem I had with Josh was that he trusted Brandon so easily, as he should, but if he even felt a small amount of concern for Alice, why didn't he ask her?

In a wrap-up, this book is amazing. If you are a teenager you should read it. Whether your Elaine, or Josh, or Kurt, read it. You will appreciate it. Honestly, if I had a say, I'd make all teenagers read it. It is heartbreaking and makes you rethink the way you treat people.