The truth about Alice Review




The truth about Alice
Author: Jennifer Mathieu
Publisher: Hardie Grant Egmont
The Truth About Alice
There are a lot of rumours about Alice Franklin, and it’s stopped mattering whether any of them are true.
It all started at a party, when Alice was supposedly with two guys in one night.
Soon everyone at Healy High has picked a side in the game of he said/she dais. Do they believe Brandon Fitzsimmons, the most popular guy at school and the football hero of Healy? Or do they believe Alice, the girl who wears too-tight t-shirts and was caught kissing Brandon in a closet a couple of years before?
When Brandon dies in a car crash, there are serious allegations that his death was Alice’s fault. As the rumour mill spills in to overdrive, Alice’s small town becomes suffocating. And when the truth becomes a matter of opinion, something’s got to give.

My Review
Plot: The truth about Alice is a gripping story which touches on issues such as rumours, bullying, teen pregnancy, abortion and being gay. It is told in the points of view of: the popular girl Elaine, Alice’s ex-best friend Kelsie, Brandon’s best mate Josh, the school nerd Kurt and lastly the girl surrounding all the rumours, Alice.
Everything is basically written around what happened with Alice. Apparently at one of the hottest parties in town (that Kelsie couldn’t go to because she was in bed sick) Alice slept with two guys in the one night. This rumour spreads like wildfire but then one of the boys supposedly involved in the incident is killed in a car accident where Alice was reportedly the cause. Throughout the book we slowly learn about the events proceeding the party, what happened after the party and what happened after the crash that killed Brandon.

What I liked: I loved the gripping story that had me hooked until the end trying to figure out what happened. I really enjoyed how each chapter was from the point of view of someone different. Because of all the different people narrating I felt more involved with how everything happened and got a lot more of what was going on in Healy. We got to see all different sides of the social scale which I believed helped make the story as fantastic as it was.

What I didn’t like: It’s not much, as I really enjoyed the book, but I would have liked to have heard a bit more from Alice. But in saying that I also get why the author waited until the last chapter to let her narrate, as it made more of an impact.

My favourite character: My favourite character is the school nerd, Kurt. Throughout the book we learn that from the first moment, Kurt really liked Alice way before anything happened. He never had the courage to say anything to her until the whole thing went down and all the rumours started and everyone started ignoring Alice. He originally liked her because she was pretty and was nice enough to speak with her. This is what led him to offer his help to her when she is struggling with her schoolwork. Upon helping her he realises that he likes her so much more than he originally thought but didn’t want to push anything onto her.

Favourite quote/part:
“How much did it hurt? It was like a million paper cuts on my heart.”


Rating : 4/5

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