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tilly_franks's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
cakeandbooks1970's review
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
ingvild23's review
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.75
radioactivecorduroy's review
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
plot was nice but the dialogue was not good & the pop culture references were worse
unnamedraider's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Death, Child abuse, and Homophobia
Moderate: Cancer, Homophobia, and Car accident
claire60's review
5.0
Loved her first book, so was very excited when I saw this, especially when I saw there is an LGBT character. Simply this is the story of two 16 year old girls Tara, catholic from Derry and Faith, protestant from Armagh, who meet at an outdoor activity weekend both shocked by the fact that they look so alike. As they are determined to get to know each other and find out the truth about their parentage, everything unravels around them. It's an intense, fast paced, story a lot happens and whilst I could have read it all in one go, I was glad of breaks to absorb the various and occasionally startling plot points.
Set in 2019 as legislation was brought in re legalising abortion and gay marriage (thereby finally bringing NI in line with the rest of the UK), politics both current and past are never far away. In addition the book contains themes of violence, suicide, addiction, depression and religious based conversion therapy, ambitious but also reflective of the communities she is writing about. The author is very skilled at showing the legacy of war on the people of NI even or maybe even especially after years of peace. I also really like the way she also highlights both the impact of poverty but also how that also has relevance to sectarian politics.
Smattered with numerous NI ways of speaking and cultural behaviours, this is a must for anyone interested in understanding more about NI, now and in the past. It is also a delightful coming of age and coming out story, reminding us that whilst things are much better, coming out is hard and how much support is needed.
Set in 2019 as legislation was brought in re legalising abortion and gay marriage (thereby finally bringing NI in line with the rest of the UK), politics both current and past are never far away. In addition the book contains themes of violence, suicide, addiction, depression and religious based conversion therapy, ambitious but also reflective of the communities she is writing about. The author is very skilled at showing the legacy of war on the people of NI even or maybe even especially after years of peace. I also really like the way she also highlights both the impact of poverty but also how that also has relevance to sectarian politics.
Smattered with numerous NI ways of speaking and cultural behaviours, this is a must for anyone interested in understanding more about NI, now and in the past. It is also a delightful coming of age and coming out story, reminding us that whilst things are much better, coming out is hard and how much support is needed.
liralen's review
3.0
Well, this makes me want to go read more about the Troubles, because I know shamefully little about them. Truth Be Told takes place in 2019, twenty years after the 'end' of the Troubles, but the impact reverberates on and on.
Tara and Faith have both grown up with that impact, although from opposite sides of the divide—but when they meet, they know immediately that their stories intersect, even if they aren't yet sure how or why.
I was afraid, briefly, that there'd be a Parent Trap–style switcheroo here, and I'm glad that those fears didn't come true. Fun as it might be to see, frankly neither Faith nor Tara would be able to pull off the other realistically. Instead they're able to focus on learning some complicated truths about their pasts and Northern Ireland's past more generally. Some of those family truths start to get a bit convoluted, and I'd love to see a non-YA version of this, but the mix of history and family drama is compelling.
Tara and Faith have both grown up with that impact, although from opposite sides of the divide—but when they meet, they know immediately that their stories intersect, even if they aren't yet sure how or why.
I was afraid, briefly, that there'd be a Parent Trap–style switcheroo here, and I'm glad that those fears didn't come true. Fun as it might be to see, frankly neither Faith nor Tara would be able to pull off the other realistically. Instead they're able to focus on learning some complicated truths about their pasts and Northern Ireland's past more generally. Some of those family truths start to get a bit convoluted, and I'd love to see a non-YA version of this, but the mix of history and family drama is compelling.
vietspringroll's review
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
2.0
ayalaver_gp's review
dark
emotional
inspiring
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0