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A review by wjreadsbooks
The Truth about Alice by Jennifer Mathieu
4.0
I haven't had the best luck with contemporary novels this year. There were some that were good, such as [b:52 Reasons to Hate My Father|9791906|52 Reasons to Hate My Father|Jessica Brody|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1344448228s/9791906.jpg|14681991] but there was a lot more good than bad ([b:How to Love|17332564|How to Love|Katie Cotugno|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1366904609s/17332564.jpg|24037773] and [b:What I Thought Was True|22521559|What I Thought Was True|Huntley Fitzpatrick|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1403189808s/22521559.jpg|21569082] were particularly memorable) so far for me. With The Truth About Alice though, my faith has been renewed. This novel is a pretty short read, coming in at just under 200 pages but it explores many complex issues: about body image, about slut-shaming, about grief and handles its themes very well. I'm honestly impressed by Jennifer Mathieu's debut effort and there were definitely times where I wished the book was longer!
Alice Franklin is known to be a slut. Everyone in her community knows about the rumours when she slept with two different guys in the span of an hour. And there's also the vicious rumour that she was texting golden boy Brandon Fitzsimmons, the high school quarterback, when he got into a car accident that cost his life. As a result of the accident, she's shunned by her peers and everyone, from the popular girl to her ex-best friend, from the best friend of Brandon to the boy who's always been too shy to speak to her, has an opinion about who Alice Franklin really is.
And at the end, what really matters is Alice's perspective. What does she think about herself and about everything else that has happened?
It's rare where there are so many different perspectives that are crammed in one book but Mathieu manages to make it really work. All the voices are very distinct from each other and even without looking at the header of the chapter to figure out who was speaking, I could usually tell from the word choice and their tone. And surprisingly, I actually found myself sympathetic to all the characters because of their histories and the demons that they've had to deal with.
There's Elaine, the most popular girl at school with the power to either strike someone down or to bring someone to her level of popularity. Elaine's always been pretty and she was on-and-off with Brandon for the longest time. But she's also had to deal with her own body image issues, with a mother that's obsessed with Weight Watchers and with the amount of calories that's in every piece of food. When rumours about Alice are circulating, she tends to believe them. After all, that's the same girl who kissed Brandon way back at their eighth grade dance when she and Brandon arrived together, as a couple.
There's Kelsie, Alice's ex-best friend. The girl who's desperate to be accepted and to have friends, after moving into Alice's town. Kelsie's not as experienced as Alice when it comes to boys, having never been able to figure out how to speak to them. And when Alice insinuates that Kelsie's way more innocent than she has ever been, Kelsie takes things into her own hands to tragic consequences. So when rumours about Alice are spreading, she drops her best friend and leaves everything about their friendship behind her. Except she can't out-run the past. Sooner or later, she has to live with what she's done.
There's Josh, the best friend of Brandon and a member of the high school football team as well. He was there when Brandon got into the accident and in fact, he was the one who inadvertently started the rumours about Alice texting Brandon and causing the accident. When the rumours about Alice runs wild, he finally recalls everything about the accident and has to live with the fact that his best friend is no longer around.
There's also Kurt, the highly intelligent boy who lives next door to Brandon and who's always nursed a secret crush on Alice. He's never participated in their high school drama but when the rumours about Alice starts, Kurt feels bad for this girl who's never been anything but kind to him and decides to help her out. It's not just because she's hot that he's doing it though. It's also because she's a good person.
And finally, we have Alice Franklin. The girl who's the center of all that attention and hostility, of being blamed for an accident that she has no way of controlling. Frankly speaking, I did find her perspective to be a bit of a letdown after reading all the others, with it coming across as a little flat.
Overall, The Truth About Alice is an amazing read! Do check it out if you've got the chance!
Alice Franklin is known to be a slut. Everyone in her community knows about the rumours when she slept with two different guys in the span of an hour. And there's also the vicious rumour that she was texting golden boy Brandon Fitzsimmons, the high school quarterback, when he got into a car accident that cost his life. As a result of the accident, she's shunned by her peers and everyone, from the popular girl to her ex-best friend, from the best friend of Brandon to the boy who's always been too shy to speak to her, has an opinion about who Alice Franklin really is.
And at the end, what really matters is Alice's perspective. What does she think about herself and about everything else that has happened?
It's rare where there are so many different perspectives that are crammed in one book but Mathieu manages to make it really work. All the voices are very distinct from each other and even without looking at the header of the chapter to figure out who was speaking, I could usually tell from the word choice and their tone. And surprisingly, I actually found myself sympathetic to all the characters because of their histories and the demons that they've had to deal with.
There's Elaine, the most popular girl at school with the power to either strike someone down or to bring someone to her level of popularity. Elaine's always been pretty and she was on-and-off with Brandon for the longest time. But she's also had to deal with her own body image issues, with a mother that's obsessed with Weight Watchers and with the amount of calories that's in every piece of food. When rumours about Alice are circulating, she tends to believe them. After all, that's the same girl who kissed Brandon way back at their eighth grade dance when she and Brandon arrived together, as a couple.
There's Kelsie, Alice's ex-best friend. The girl who's desperate to be accepted and to have friends, after moving into Alice's town. Kelsie's not as experienced as Alice when it comes to boys, having never been able to figure out how to speak to them. And when Alice insinuates that Kelsie's way more innocent than she has ever been, Kelsie takes things into her own hands to tragic consequences. So when rumours about Alice are spreading, she drops her best friend and leaves everything about their friendship behind her. Except she can't out-run the past. Sooner or later, she has to live with what she's done.
There's Josh, the best friend of Brandon and a member of the high school football team as well. He was there when Brandon got into the accident and in fact, he was the one who inadvertently started the rumours about Alice texting Brandon and causing the accident. When the rumours about Alice runs wild, he finally recalls everything about the accident and has to live with the fact that his best friend is no longer around.
There's also Kurt, the highly intelligent boy who lives next door to Brandon and who's always nursed a secret crush on Alice. He's never participated in their high school drama but when the rumours about Alice starts, Kurt feels bad for this girl who's never been anything but kind to him and decides to help her out. It's not just because she's hot that he's doing it though. It's also because she's a good person.
And finally, we have Alice Franklin. The girl who's the center of all that attention and hostility, of being blamed for an accident that she has no way of controlling. Frankly speaking, I did find her perspective to be a bit of a letdown after reading all the others, with it coming across as a little flat.
Overall, The Truth About Alice is an amazing read! Do check it out if you've got the chance!