Title: The Truth about Alice
Author: Jennifer Mathieu
Genre: YA Contemporary
Age Group: Young Adult
Rating: 4 stars
Purchase: Amazon
Review copy provided by publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Everyone has a lot to say about Alice Franklin, and it’s stopped mattering whether it’s true. The rumors started at a party when Alice supposedly had sex with two guys in one night. When school starts everyone almost forgets about Alice until one of those guys, super-popular Brandon, dies in a car wreck that was allegedly all Alice’s fault. Now the only friend she has is a boy who may be the only other person who knows the truth, but is too afraid to admit it. Told from the perspectives of popular girl Elaine, football star Josh, former outcast Kelsie, and shy genius Kurt, we see how everyone has a motive to bring – and keep – Alice down.
I loved The Truth about Alice. It’s written from the persepective of five different characters and tells the story of Alice Franklin, and the million things to say about her. We only hear from Alice at the end of the book, to hear her side of what’s going on, but it’s obvious from the start that not everything the characters say about Alice is the truth.
According toe the rumors, Alice slept with two guys at a party. Then, a few months later, one of these guys passed away in a car accident – Brandon, the school’s football star. Alice is blamed for his death, because apparently she texted Brandon while he was driving.
The truth, however, is a whole different matter. Slowly, through the POV of four other characters, we find out more about what’s going on. We get the perspective of popular girl Elaine, Brandon’s best friend Josh, Kelsie who used to be an outcast and Alice’s best friend, and Kurt, social outcast. At the end, we hear from Alice herself.
The writing is great, and the story is atypical. The characters act believable, and they each have a different personality. We see different aspects of their personality – even Elaine can be friendly, and Kelsie turns out to be even worse than the popular girl. Kurt is by far the most friendly of all of them, but even he is biased sometimes.
An intriguing YA contemporary story that doesn’t focus on romance for a change, but instead focuses on rumors, and what they can do to a person.
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