Title: The Truth About Alice
Author: Jennifer Mathieu
Pages: 208
Genre: Young Adult Contemporary
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Publication Date: June 3rd 2014
Synopsis via Goodreads:
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.
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.
REVIEW:
The Truth about Alice covers tough topics that most people seem to overlook in todays society and it was a breath of fresh air to see these problems brought to readers attention. The book covers topics such as popularity but most importantly rumor and slut shaming. These topics, slut shaming specifically, are topics that tend to get shied away from. It made me really happy to see Mathieu take these issues head on and not hold back.
This book is told in multiple POV's which I always love. You get to see the story of Alice unraveling through many different people. You get to see their different perspectives and thoughts on Alice's situation. But at the same time you get to hear their stories. And then you get to hear from Alice herself on the very last chapter.
I did have problems with this book though. The biggest one being with the characters. A majority of the characters were just not likeable. It came to the point that they were bothersome to read and eventually not relatable. The book is only about 200 pages but felt very slow reading it. And once I got to the end I felt like there was no progress in the book. I also just have to say the ending really bugged me. The whole story is about Alice and then you get to the last chapter that is told from Alice's POV and I was so excited to hear her side of the story but then the whole chapter was focused on another character.
Overall the book was just okay. The characters agitated me and the story itself was a little boring. I do give credit to Mathieu though for taking on this subject because it is a matter in high school that should be brought to peoples attentions more often. The Truth About Alice is a brave and honest interpretation about wrongful incidents that go on in high school way too often that are overlooked.
This book has been on my to-read list for awhile, and I'm really excited to read it! I do know where you're coming from in terms of unlikable characters, though, and while I'm generally pretty accepting of characters and their flaws, sometimes they do get to be a little much. I'm still looking forward to this book, though, because it sounds like such a unique and important story, and I've got my fingers crossed I'll end up liking the characters after all. ;) Thanks for this great review!
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