The Truth About Alice by Jennifer Mathieu Genre: Contemporary I would have loved to say I finally found the perfect book portraying high school stereotypes. But then, that wouldn't be the entire truth with The Truth About Alice. I'm not saying this is a terrible book. In fact, I think it was a relatively good book, so I'm giving it a 3.5 stars. |
Everyone knows Alice slept with two guys at one party.
But did you know Alice was sexting Brandon when he crashed his car?
It's true. Ask ANYBODY.
Rumor has it that Alice Franklin is a slut. It's written all over the bathroom stall at Healy High for everyone to see. And after star quarterback Brandon Fitzsimmons dies in a car accident, the rumors start to spiral out of control.
In this remarkable debut novel, four of Healy High students - the girl who has the infamous party, the car accident survivor, the former best friend, and the boy next door - tell all they know.
But exactly what is the truth about Alice? In the end there's only one person to ask: Alice herself.
But did you know Alice was sexting Brandon when he crashed his car?
It's true. Ask ANYBODY.
Rumor has it that Alice Franklin is a slut. It's written all over the bathroom stall at Healy High for everyone to see. And after star quarterback Brandon Fitzsimmons dies in a car accident, the rumors start to spiral out of control.
In this remarkable debut novel, four of Healy High students - the girl who has the infamous party, the car accident survivor, the former best friend, and the boy next door - tell all they know.
But exactly what is the truth about Alice? In the end there's only one person to ask: Alice herself.
One of the most common things I encounter in YA books are high school stereotypes. In the hands of an inexperienced author, 'high school characters' are actually pretty easy to screw up to the extent I hate the story. Many a times, I wish some author will come out and write a story on the jock, the popular girl, the nerd etc. Just do their characters some justice because they sure aren't merely cardboard characters with zero personality. And there came the day I found out about this book. A book about high school stereotypes and the story in their perspective? Hell, just give it to me no questions asked.
To summarize, The Truth about Alice explores high school stereotypes well but the message just couldn't get through. I know. I'm probably one out of a hundred who says: man, the message of the story wasn't good enough. But I'm talking more about the delivery of the message. I assure you the message is powerful, alright. It shows the extent of bullying and the selfishness in human nature. We would save our asses first before giving a shit about others. We would view upon others as insignificant figures in our lives. As long as this person isn't me then heck it, she'll get over it pretty soon!
This is a case where I'm unable to connect to the characters very well. Mainly, they were narrating their life stories; what brought them to this day, and their conceited attitude was portrayed fairly well. But everything felt rather detached. Mostly the book just takes on the concept of telling-us-the-story-but-use-your-own-understanding-to-relate-to-the-characters-yourself.
Despite that, I did mention the characters were actually well done. I'm not lying about that. I guess my favourite character portrayals are really just Kelsie, the desperately-wants-to-be-famous person, and Kurt, the usual high school nerd. (I hope you can see me thanking the gods when the nerd was a dude and not a girl where the author tries hard to make her look "cute" through the nerd portrayal.)
I feel Kelsie is the most complex character in the book. You somehow understand how she is feeling and you somehow understand why she did what she did but simultaneously, you don't really get it either.
To summarize, The Truth about Alice explores high school stereotypes well but the message just couldn't get through. I know. I'm probably one out of a hundred who says: man, the message of the story wasn't good enough. But I'm talking more about the delivery of the message. I assure you the message is powerful, alright. It shows the extent of bullying and the selfishness in human nature. We would save our asses first before giving a shit about others. We would view upon others as insignificant figures in our lives. As long as this person isn't me then heck it, she'll get over it pretty soon!
This is a case where I'm unable to connect to the characters very well. Mainly, they were narrating their life stories; what brought them to this day, and their conceited attitude was portrayed fairly well. But everything felt rather detached. Mostly the book just takes on the concept of telling-us-the-story-but-use-your-own-understanding-to-relate-to-the-characters-yourself.
Despite that, I did mention the characters were actually well done. I'm not lying about that. I guess my favourite character portrayals are really just Kelsie, the desperately-wants-to-be-famous person, and Kurt, the usual high school nerd. (I hope you can see me thanking the gods when the nerd was a dude and not a girl where the author tries hard to make her look "cute" through the nerd portrayal.)
I feel Kelsie is the most complex character in the book. You somehow understand how she is feeling and you somehow understand why she did what she did but simultaneously, you don't really get it either.
I had the sneaking suspicion that I would have been a Nazi back then because I wouldn’t have had the guts to be anything else. I know that everyone wants to believe they would have been the brave one and they would have been the one to hide Anne in their attic and they would have killed Hitler with their own bare hands. But clearly if everybody thinks that way and in reality only a few people actually did it way back then, doesn’t that just make me the honest one? |
You could see it from a third person perspective and wow she's a bitch. But read it from her view, it becomes more complicated than her just being a backstabbing friend.
Kurt was one of the better portrayed characters because finally someone writes about a nerd who is human and has a life. This guy may be a genius; new information and details fascinate him. And what, this guy becomes Albert Einstein junior? A "nerd" is human, they function normally, they sit alone and read a book in the cafeteria because they want it, they don't study all day, they are socially awkward and shy so they choose to just shut up, they have human tendencies and desires. Reality check: nerds are humans, not aliens who love to study.
Kurt was one of the better portrayed characters because finally someone writes about a nerd who is human and has a life. This guy may be a genius; new information and details fascinate him. And what, this guy becomes Albert Einstein junior? A "nerd" is human, they function normally, they sit alone and read a book in the cafeteria because they want it, they don't study all day, they are socially awkward and shy so they choose to just shut up, they have human tendencies and desires. Reality check: nerds are humans, not aliens who love to study.
"I see no need in taking part in forced adolescent social rituals that would do nothing but stir up emotions of dread for all involved." |
Though I still feel 'popular barbie girl' and 'the jock' portrayal could have been done better. Because now all they seem like are just extras in the cast. Nothing more than their conceited, egoistic selfs. (I still trust that they have better qualities than just those two)
All in all, this was a realistic novel portraying mostly the downs of high school. Even though it is a short novel, it explores many of the negatives in high school like sex, peer pressure, social status and magnitude of bullying. This book really made high school stereotypes appear more than how they are often portrayed. Despite the rating, this book was definitely worth the read.
All in all, this was a realistic novel portraying mostly the downs of high school. Even though it is a short novel, it explores many of the negatives in high school like sex, peer pressure, social status and magnitude of bullying. This book really made high school stereotypes appear more than how they are often portrayed. Despite the rating, this book was definitely worth the read.