The Truth About Alice by Jennifer Mathieu // Book Review
Title: The Truth About Alice
Author: Jennifer Mathieu
Genre(s): Young Adult, Contemporary, Realistic Fiction
Page Count: 208
Purchase: Amazon ~ Kindle ~ The Book Depository
Synopsis:
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 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.
This review does contain minor spoilers because I'm so pissed off with this stupid book.
TW: slut shaming, underage drinking and abortion
~Things I Liked~
- There's not much to like in a book like this one. I can honestly say that there wasn't one redeeming quality about this book. There was nothing redeeming for Alice, the character who is slut shamed. The character who is blamed for things she didn't do. There is no redemption. This book did the complete opposite of what these books are supposed to do. It's supposed to teach a lesson. I see no lessons taught to any of these teens in this damned book.
- I only liked Kurt. Even when I liked him, I still didn't like him for the secret he withheld from everyone. He thinks it wouldn't have made a difference because he's the nerdy kid with no friends. He may be smart, but he definitely didn't use his brain well.
~Things I Didn't Like~
- This entire damn book. This book was filled with a bunch of entitled kids. Kids who think they're better than everyone because they're popular. Kids who think it's okay to talk shit about people behind their backs.
- This book was repetitive. All this book is about is a couple of teens talking shit about Alice. And they're all talking the same damn shit. Nobody apologizes, even when they realize they are in the wrong. Nobody gives a shit about how they make people feel. Fuck this book.
~Overall Thoughts~
I really disliked this book. This book is not a healthy book. It doesn't shed positive light on women and their sexuality. Even if the rumors about Alice were true, this is not the way a woman's sexuality should be judged. It should NOT be judged. It's nobody else's business. Jennifer Mathieu did not execute this book good. This book seems like it's supposed to shed positive light about slut shaming and how it's not good to do it. There were no repercussions for the students. They all basically got away with bullying a girl. I really hope Jennifer's other books are nothing like this. If they are, you can guarantee I will never pick up another book by her again.
The only reason this book is getting two stars is because of Kurt. He may not have been the best character ever, but he did step up and befriended Alice when she had nobody.
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