Truth About Alice

I enjoyed this book so much, I had to write a review. This could easily have been high school back in my day. (Cough! 26 years ago....) Maybe my classmates I remember from high school didn't start any vicious rumors about someone to this extreme, but many were just as mean and weak - acting like a-holes just to try to fit in. Things haven't changed, except I think now there's a little better awareness of bullying than back then. The characters narrating this story are so well developed. Each telling their point of view in a different chapter, in their own different style really gives us a better idea of their personalities and who they are. Elaine is the popular girl - so popular, she'll tell you all about how "powerful" she is at this school. When others copy her, act nervous around her, laugh a little too loud at her jokes, or do / say anything just to be friends with her, that doesn't escape her notice either. She narrates her POV using like, the word *like* 1,000 times. Boy can things go so wrong for you if you find yourself on her bad side. Josh, the stereotypical jock. He's worse than Elaine for being so weak and cowardly under it all. He feels a little bad about his lies, but not all that bad. You wonder if, years later if / when he finally comes out as gay, maybe he'll get a small taste of what it feels like to be treated badly over something never deserved. But he's not addressing this now. Kelsie - even more weak, cowardly and a real hypocrite. (Actually, everyone except Kurt and Alice is a big ole hypocrite.) She's also a real Benedict Arnold because she was Alice's "best friend" at one time. I hated her, but did begin to feel sorry for her- just a little. So desperate to fit in and doesn't want to go back to that time in her life when she was once unpopular herself. A bit more remorseful than Josh, but not enough to come clean. Kurt - the nicest character in the book. A genius - smarter than the teachers, but described by the other kids as "weird" and "nerdy." I'd rather hang out with him any day and found him the most relatable. The writing when he narrates is extremely thoughtful and intelligent - using much bigger words the others wouldn't know the meaning of. He's unpopular if not invisible in this school, has no friends but what I think is great is that he doesn't care. He's got the right idea - especially with this crowd. He's the only one to be a real friend to Alice. Alice- You learn so much about her through all of the other POVs, even though her own small part at the end is so short and sweet. She was a little mad at Kurt for not revealing what he knew sooner - but who would've listened to him anyway? Of course, she knew the truth as well and that didn't help her either. Very powerful book and I look forward to more from this writer. SPOILER: The ending was very good, but left me still wanting to see the others get the comeuppance they deserved - or wanting know more what happens after the end. You are left to fill in a lot of the blanks in your mind. There's room for a sequel, I think.

In this novel there is four students from Healy high called Elaine, Kelsie, Kurt, and Josh telling all they “know” of Alice Franklin, revealing secrets. In Healy high there is a girl named Alice Franklin and there is a rumor going around that she has slept with two guys on the same night and that she was the cause of the death of Brandon Fitzsimmons because he was sexting with Alice. Did she have an abortion? Did she really slept with two guys on the same night? And was she really the reason that Brandon Fitzsimmons died? Only one person really knows the truth the “real” truth, just ask Alice Franklin herself known as the biggest promiscuous girl in school. This is a great book, it gives you the feeling of realistic bullying, and the lies that people tell to protect themselves despite the consequences that may occur. Is really great told, with really excellent transitions to the story of Alice because its divided into four stories with different narrators that are not reliable and have secrets of their own that they do not want to reveal and when a author has the gift to make the reader read the book with different characters and the reader can imagine them with different voice and can identify them without getting lost he or she is a really great author. That is what Mathieu did, and she did a great job. While reading about Alice story it was painful and uncomfortable, but then you realize this happens to teen girls’ way more than it should and it is tragic, so the author did a great job interpreting the message to her audience. Mathieu created a well appearance of all the teens sympathetically revealing their insecurities and what motivate their insecurities, it gives you a really good perspectives of the things teenage girls are going through nowadays. The author Jennifer Mathieu did a great job writing this novel, but there’s things as a reader did not like. Some things were that she repeated things over and over again; for example about the night that Alice slept with two guys. I know she was supposed to repeat it, but she could have put in a few conversations, and not almost all of the narratives the characters did. In conclusion the author did a remarkable job writing this novel; this is a really good novel or book for teens to read understand that words have consequences and just because someone says something it does not make it true If you are interested in this novel you won’t be disappointed, you would want to read more and more as you keep reading throughout the book.

The concept of the book is good, but it develops in a predictable way. It's more oriented towards teens. I personally found the characters immature and coward, except from Kurt, which annoyed me. Still, the book not being narrated from the main character's POV was an interesting touch, specially because it all involved gossip about her.

The book left me speechless in the best way. It’s one of those books that stays with you long after the last page. The way the story unfolds—from multiple perspectives—made it impossible to put down. Every character felt raw and real, each revealing a different layer of the truth and how rumors can spiral into something devastating. What stood out most to me was how honestly the book portrayed high school cruelty, peer pressure, and how easy it is to judge someone without knowing the full story. It made me think, made me angry, made me sad—and somehow, all of that together made it beautiful. I gave it five stars because it didn’t just tell a story—it made me feel it.

If you want to teach your kids about rumors etc. And how they affect ppl this book is it. Got this for my daughter bc it was on the school summer reading list and we talked about it like it was a series

It seems that no matter how things change, one thing never does and that is high school. I love how the author let her characters do the talking and in this way, we got to know them, faults and all. These are essentially good kids that have done horrible things but the author shows us that no matter their actions, they are all kids trying to find their way. I am recommending this for teens and parents of teens. I did want to hug Alice because the kids were so horrible to her. Even though they were good kids, they needed adults to step in and unfortunately nobody did. Anyway, The truth about Alice...I'll let you read it and find out yourself.

4.5 The truth About Alice is a novel that I really enjoyed and loved, because is very realistic, unique, and interesting, it shows you some of the problems teenagers get through like gossips, rumors, sex, friendships, live, parents, bulling and others. Something great about this book was that it was told in different perspectives and characters, with them you get to know more about Alice, her life, and also the characters’ life, thoughts, feelings, it was amazing. We get to know Elaine the popular girl, Kurt the smart guy, Kelsie Alice’s ex best friend, Josh Brandon’s best friend, and finally Alice. It is very short, but things are happening, the story never stops, the rumors never end, I wanted to punch some people in the face sometimes, because the things that happened to Alice aren't simple, and her life changes dramatically, her mom isn't there with her, but Alice has to continue with her life.

A high school junior named Alice Franklin, one of the most well-known girls at Healy High School, life was turned around. All it took was one night, one party, one text, one misunderstanding. Brandon Fitzsimmons, the most popular guy in Healy High, and Tommy Cray, a college student, was at Elaine O’Dea’s’, one of the most popular girls at Healy High, party. Brandon sends a text saying that Alice slept with him and Tommy in the same night, then the next thing you know everyone is talking about it. Brandon and Elaine always had an on-off relationship and Elaine didn’t like what she heard. At the end of the night Brandon’s mom asked Brandon and Josh, Brandon’s best friend, to pick up something from the store. Even though Brandon was a little drunk he thought it would be okay to drive since the population in Healy, Texas is not high, during the drive Josh noticed Brandon texting someone and while Brandon was texting he kept bringing up Alice and a car accident occurred, and that added gasoline to the fire. I recommend this book because you never know the truth until the end of the book. You have to read it all the way through. It always has you on the edge of your seat. I can tell you this book will play with your emotions, it’ll make you mad, sad, and there are some happy parts. While reading this book you also have to put the pieces together and figure out what it all leads to. The whole first few chapters of the novel is made of students from the same school telling their sides of the stories and you never know if it is the truth or a lie. This novel is perfect for a teenager because it has all the drama of what a high school girl goes through. At the end I was a little disappointed because I was hoping that it was something totally different but it did have a happy ending. It teaches you that the world is a cruel place because you can never get rid of the bad things that were going on about you, even if you do good people will still remember the bad. But I promise the ending will make you feel better. The ending gives you hope that there will always be a friend right with you through the ups and downs, although you may doubt them at first.

My daughter loved the book. She like the author so it was great to find a couple of books.

This type of book wasn't exactly what I usually read. But this book. It was the starter and probably the best start throigh this journey. If I talk about the book conditions, it came in nicely, well protected, which is something very important. I always buy my novels in amazon, its become a habit

高校を舞台に、性といじめについて描かれるヤングアダルト向けの作品です。 高校生の人気者であったAliceは、Elaineのパーティの夜に男2人と寝ていたという噂が広まってからのけものにされます。 その男の1人であるBrandonが車の事故で死亡したとき、同乗していたJoshは、運転の最中にSextingをしていたAliceのせいだと主張し更に彼女を孤立させていきます。 かつての親友だったKelsieも、作った子供を中絶したという噂を流しAliceを裏切っていじめるようになりました。 この物語は、Aliceと関わりのあるキャラたちの視点で語られていきます。 学校のアイドルで典型的ないじめっこタイプでBrandonの元恋人であったElaine、以前Aliceの親友だったが彼女とのとあるすれ違いからElaine達のメンバーに寝返ったKelsie、Brandonの親友であるJosh、風変わりで友達もなくAliceに興味を持っているKurt、それぞれの人物がAliceやBrandonの死を中心とする一連の事件について語ります。 Aliceがいじめられるようになるまでの経緯を語りながら、徐々に明らかになっていく「噂」の真実。そして、それぞれのキャラが複雑な事情を抱えながらもAliceを責め立てることで正当化している流れは、リアルないじめ問題に通じる部分があります。 キャラクターの中で唯一、KurtだけがAliceの味方となります。最初は不器用ながらもだんだんとスムーズにAliceとコンタクトを取れるようになる彼の成長っぷりも見どころです。しかし彼自身も近所だったBrandonから聞かされた当時の重大な秘密を持っており、彼女にカミングアウトするタイミングを逃しています。 Aliceの視点で語られるのは最後の最後ですが、このとき語られるKurtについても面白いです。 過激ないじめ描写はなく、Aliceもそこそこ強い子なので、露骨にキッツイ場面はありません。 登場人物らはAliceに関わる一連の出来事だけでなく、それぞれティーンエイジ特有の複雑な悩みも抱えています。その責任を全てAliceに押しつけているのは最低とも思われますが、彼ら自身どうすることも出来ない葛藤に苦められており、高校生という年頃の精神的な弱さ・悲しみから他人に押しつけたくなった部分があったのではないでしょうか。終盤で唯一ふっきれたElaineがAliceを若干許すようになってきたところからもその陰りが見えます。 ヤングアダルトの微妙な心理をついており、考えさせられる内容でした。ただ、一部のキャラがモヤモヤしたまま投げっぱなしで終わっているのが残念です。 ページ量も少なく読みやすい内容で、良い作品でした。

Un roman court mais poignant sur le harcèlement que je recommande à tous. En 200 pages, l'auteure aborde de nombreux thèmes sensibles, tous primordiaux (ex : avortement). "The Truth About Alice" est important et mérite de se retrouver dans les mains du plus grand nombre (à partir de 14 ans je dirais). En ce qui concerne le niveau d'anglais, c'est très accessible.

Reading this book was brutal. It took me back to a very dark place in my life - one i have worked very VERY hard to move past. It is raw and honest in it's devastation and oh so very accurate to how these things really happen, who starts them and how it never really ends. I appreciate that there was no fluff, no smoothed edges, no lies to make you think it wasn't as bad as it really is/was. Every teenager should have to read this book upon entry to high school. It should be on the damn curriculum.