REVIEW: The Truth About Alice by Jennifer Mathieu




Monday, July 14, 2014



My rating: 
“There is one thing I've learned about people: they don't get that mean and nasty overnight. It's not human nature. But if you give people enough time, eventually they'll do the most heartbreaking stuff in the world.”


I absolutely loved this book. I couldn't exaggerate it enough I think. There are just too much feels for me towards this book. I just couldn't put this one down. I just couldn't, I was hooked. It kept me interested.


THE STORY

Alice's life was pretty normal, up until the incident that changed her life forever.
She used to be popular.
She used to be one of the girls, that everyone looked up to.
Now, all of that changed.

Alice Franklin is a slut!

That's what everyone believed.
Because Brandon Fitzsimmons told everyone that Alice slept with him and Tommy.
Everyone believed him.
Nobody questioned him.
They just believed him.

Alice got into an even deeper trouble when Brandon dies... And everyone blames her for it.



MEET THE CHARACTERS

The Truth about Alice is written in different POVs. You get to see Alice in the eyes of 4 different people, and finally towards the end, you meet Alice.

Elaine

Elaine was the first voice you will hear on this story. She was the popular girl. The one everyone wishes they could be. She's not exactly friends with Alice, but they weren't in bad terms either. But they did have a past, that Elaine wasn't able to forget.

I didn't hate Elaine really. There were some points in the story, that I feel sympathy for her. She wasn't the typical popular, mean girl. She wasn't stupid either, but she does have a high regard towards herself.

I find Elaine's voice, like all the others, really real. It felt very authentic to me. I feel that the author really did a good job making Elaine's character. I really enjoyed watching Alice through her eyes. She wasn't the perfect person, and that's what made me like her POV.

Kelsie

I hated this bitch. I hated her with passion. I even hated her than Brandon who started the fucking rumor. The reason why I hated her more, was because she was Alice's best friend. She should have been the one by her side when everyone else left her. But she, the stupid ingrate, decided she didn't want to be unpopular again, so she ditched Alice for the cool kids. To make matters worse, she spread a rumor that she knew was untrue.

The hard truth is I think I knew we weren't going to be friends anymore the day after Elaine's party when I read that text about her and Brandon and Tommy Cray. It sounds terrible and shallow and not at all like something the Kelsie Sanders I knew in Flint would have said, but I've spent too many years sitting alone in the cafeteria, and I just can't handle doing it again.


What a fucking loser!

Josh

I hated him too. He was Brandon's best friend, and possibly one of the biggest loser in the entire book world.

Kurt

Kurt was the nerdy guy who had a crush on Alice. And honestly, I wasn't exactly happy about him either. He could have done something, but he chose not to. Tsk tsk. Extremely disappointed.

Alice

We get to see Alice's POV on only one chapter. We see her through everyone else's eyes but we only get to really hear her thoughts once. But even seeing through other people, I still loved Alice.

She's gone through a lot of bullshit for something she didn't do. People judged her, but they never bothered asking if it was true. Of all the people in this book, she's the only one I really had respect for. No one, not even the adults, asked her why or if it is even true. No one bothered.

I felt sorry for Alice the entire time. I could only guess what it would have felt like for her. She was strong-willed. She didn't take bullshit from anyone. She confronted Kelsie, and I freakin' wished she smashed her face. But Alice, was still such a nice person, despite all of that. She cried. Yes, she did. But it was okay. She deserved to cry. But what she doesn't deserve, is the stupid prejudice everyone had of her.

Alice has just became one of my favorite heroines.


MY RATINGSS

WRITING: 20
PLOT: 20
CHARACTERS: 20
UNPREDICTABILITY: 17
PACING: 10
ENJOYABILITY: 10
----------------------------

Writing: I loved it. I really liked how this book was written. I liked how we saw Alice through everyoneelse's eyes. We see how stupid and shallow sometimes people are. We only get a glimpse of what she has to say, but it didn't matter. I was able to connect to the story in every way. Simplicity is the key on why this story was successful, in my opinion. There were no complicated lines. There were no overly composed sentences (I'm taking about you Why We Broke Up. There were no complex plot and subplots. This was just the story of a girl, who was a victim of viscious rumors that spiralled out of control. That was it. No romance on the sideline. No other stupid add-ons that weren't necessary.

Plot: The plot was flawless. For me, it was prefect. I really liked how the story started, how it climaxed, and how it ended. It ended beautifully. Not only was all the character's secret revealed, but we realized that this whole fiasco made Alice into a better person. She wasn't the losing end here.

Characters: I loved each and every one of them. They were all made equally well.

Unpredictability: I predicted the ending, but other than that, it was all good.

Pacing: Perfect. Just the way I like it.

Enjoyability: I absolutely enjoyed it!


FINAL RAMBLINGS

I highly recommend these types of books to teenagers. These are the type of books that they should be reading, as it teaches us that our actions could affect someone else greatly even if we don't mean to. It teaches us to be sensitive, and to always give a benefit of the doubt.

All those kids, shunned Alice, just because she slept with two guys? I mean what the hell? I'm sure there are much worse stuff that has happened to other people. AM I RIGHT KELSIE? They don't have the right to slut-shame her, when I'm sure most of them do it too. Judging people without really knowing what went on is just terrible. It shouldn't be done to anybody.

I'm sure in every school, there is one Alice. Then there's also those who bully, spread rumors just for the fun of it. Then there's the people who just want to keep quiet, and avoid being picked on. Then there's those people who believe everything the cool people say, because they want to be cool too. But I'm sure, there are people like Kurt, who are true friends.

I wasn't able to write my review of this book when i finished it because my computer and internet crashed. I actually had more things to say, but now has left me.

I give this book an A+, and will have my highest recommendation.

If any of you guys have read this, please let me know about what you think of it, or if you could recommend me similar books like this.. Leave me a comment below.

6 comments:

  1. I've heard nothing but good things about this book. I think I need to check this one out sooner than later. Great review!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Jazmen! :) You should, this is an awesome debut!

      Delete
  2. I'm with Jazmen! I've heard nothing but glowing reviews about this, so I'm glad you enjoyed it as well! Despite the reviews, I've been a bit hesitant to read this one because it sounds like such an emotional topic, but I think you've convinced me to give it a go! The characters just sound so realistic and I love the sound of the beautiful writing. Thanks for sharing, and, as always, BRILLIANT review! <3

    ~ Zoe @ The Infinite To-Read Shelf

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh yes Zoe! Go and grab this one! I have nothing but good words for this book. I really really really loved it from start to finish. You won't be able to put it down, I promise. The writing style is really different from other books like this one. Don't expect any amazing plot twists though because this book doesn't have that. Just a good simple story, with a very well done writing. :)

      Delete
  3. I'm really excited to read this after your review. I was on the fence about it, but now I HAVE to find it and read it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I hope you'll enjoy it as much as I did. :) The flow of this story was just really good and so was the voices of each of the characters. They sound very authentic. :)

      Happy reading Erin! :)

      Delete

I love hearing back from you guys! :)
Drop me a comment ^__^

 

Flickr Images

Powered by Blogger.

SUBSCRIBE

Followers

Search This Blog

Video of the day

Copyright © 2015 • Book Ramblings of A Whimsical Reader