Review: The Truth About Alice by Jennifer Mathieu

From Goodreads: Everyone has a lot to say about Alice Franklin, and it’s stopped mattering whether it’s true. The rumors started at a party when Alice supposedly had sex with two guys in one night. When school starts everyone almost forgets about Alice until one of those guys, super-popular Brandon, dies in a car wreck that was allegedly all Alice’s fault. Now the only friend she has is a boy who may be the only other person who knows the truth, but is too afraid to admit it. Told from the perspectives of popular girl Elaine, football star Josh, former outcast Kelsie, and shy genius Kurt, we see how everyone has a motive to bring – and keep – Alice down.
My thoughts: This was such a fast read and one I really enjoyed. This book shows what happens when a rumour rapidly flies through a high school - what it does to those involved directly, and even those who are not directly involved. Everyone knows that there's usually only a smattering of truth in rumours, but when you're in high school and your popularity is on the line, truth doesn't seem to matter. Even when someone gets hurt.

Each chapter is told from a different characters perspective (something I really love), and each chapter reveals more about that fateful night. It also reveals more about the different types of people in high school, from the popular people, to the not so popular people. I really liked Kurt, the quiet genius who doesn't have a lot of friends, but who knows what happened that night. Kurt befriends Alice while the whole school turns away, and while his intentions may not be as pure as you'd think, it all works out for him.

I liked the way the story unfolded. It was a short read, but that worked well in this story because too many more details or more characters might have made the story too jumbled. Instead, it read at the perfect pace with details being released at the right times.

The ending was what made the story for me. I was hoping that Mathieu would throw in an Alice chapter, and was happy when I finally got there. Having the story told from everyone but Alice's perspective made it a unique way to read the story because you have to form your opinion about Alice without actually hearing from her until the very end. I liked Alice before I read her chapter, but I really liked her afterwards.

I rated this four out of five stars based on Goodreads rating system, and I think that teens and people who enjoy YA will really like it.