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A review by maliazaidi
The Truth About Alice by Jennifer Mathieu
4.0
THE TRUTH ABOUT ALICE
I have to say, this book surprised me. Though the characters are really all caricatures of stereotypical high school people, they feel, at least, like a real and believable version of such. The book is quite short, so none of the characters really makes a huge impact, since it is told by a handful of them in alternating chapters. This book is really more about the idea, the story, not character development. At least that is how I came away from it.
The plot centers around a scandalous event that may or may not have taken place surrounding a high school girl, Alice Franklin. Her story and the events that came before and after it, are told by classmates, former friends, and people who know about her. This is a very interesting technique, and a clever one for such a story. We are given slightly varying versions of events, creeping closer to the truth, until, at the end, we hear from Alice herself.
Though I say this story was more about the idea of what rumors, cruel gossip, bullying and social alienation can do, the one character who really stood out to me was Kurt, the "geeky boy". He was just a lovely person and I would have liked to know more about him. All in all, I didn't feel that there was one particularly nasty person, as so often is the case with the spreading of malicious rumors. Rather, the characters each added a small degree to the big problem, each throwing in a cruel remark, or new gossip to fuel the flame. I found this notion quite believable. I am lucky to say I have never experienced bullying, but especially nowadays, with the internet such a ready forum for anonymous nastiness, it is hard not to see it as a major problem.
The idea I feel this book is aiming at is what is worse, doing the actual bullying or doing nothing to stop it? Small kindesses and showing sympathy and understanding can make a tremendous impact. It is hard to go against the grain and strike out on your own when you feel something wrong is happening, but it can make all the difference. One person's compassion can help the victim of bullying or someone who is made an outcast, feel not quite so alone anymore.
While reading this book, I didn't think it would leave much of an impact, but clearly it has. It's short and oddly simple, but well worth the read.
Find more reviews and bookish fun at http://www.princessandpen.com
I have to say, this book surprised me. Though the characters are really all caricatures of stereotypical high school people, they feel, at least, like a real and believable version of such. The book is quite short, so none of the characters really makes a huge impact, since it is told by a handful of them in alternating chapters. This book is really more about the idea, the story, not character development. At least that is how I came away from it.
The plot centers around a scandalous event that may or may not have taken place surrounding a high school girl, Alice Franklin. Her story and the events that came before and after it, are told by classmates, former friends, and people who know about her. This is a very interesting technique, and a clever one for such a story. We are given slightly varying versions of events, creeping closer to the truth, until, at the end, we hear from Alice herself.
Though I say this story was more about the idea of what rumors, cruel gossip, bullying and social alienation can do, the one character who really stood out to me was Kurt, the "geeky boy". He was just a lovely person and I would have liked to know more about him. All in all, I didn't feel that there was one particularly nasty person, as so often is the case with the spreading of malicious rumors. Rather, the characters each added a small degree to the big problem, each throwing in a cruel remark, or new gossip to fuel the flame. I found this notion quite believable. I am lucky to say I have never experienced bullying, but especially nowadays, with the internet such a ready forum for anonymous nastiness, it is hard not to see it as a major problem.
The idea I feel this book is aiming at is what is worse, doing the actual bullying or doing nothing to stop it? Small kindesses and showing sympathy and understanding can make a tremendous impact. It is hard to go against the grain and strike out on your own when you feel something wrong is happening, but it can make all the difference. One person's compassion can help the victim of bullying or someone who is made an outcast, feel not quite so alone anymore.
While reading this book, I didn't think it would leave much of an impact, but clearly it has. It's short and oddly simple, but well worth the read.
Find more reviews and bookish fun at http://www.princessandpen.com