Four years ago, Judith and her best friend disappeared from their small town of Roswell Station. Two years ago, only Judith returned, permanently mutilated, reviled and ignored by those who were once her friends and family. Unable to speak, Judith lives like a ghost in her own home, silently pouring out her thoughts to the boy who’s owned her heart as long as she can remember—even if he doesn’t know it—her childhood friend, Lucas. But when Roswell Station is attacked, long-buried secrets come to light, and Judith is forced to choose: continue to live in silence, or recover her voice, even if it means changing her world, and the lives around her, forever. This startlingly original novel will shock and disturb you; it will fill you with Judith’s passion and longing; and its mysteries will keep you feverishly turning the pages until the very last
Title: All The Truth That's In Me
Author: Julie Berry
Publication Date: September 26, 2013
Publisher: Viking Juvenile
Crystal's Review:
All the Truth That's In Me
Julie Berry
Loved it, loved it, LOVED IT!
All The Truth That's In Me is written in a "pinhole" narrative form, which if done correctly, is the most addictive type of narrative. This one is expertly done. Once I started this book and had to set it down, I obsessed over it all day until I could finally pick it up back up. I then stayed up until 3:30 AM to finish it (I get up at 5:30 AM for work. Worth it).
I don't want to give anything about the story away in my review, so it's going to be vague. Trust me - any spoilers would ruin the experience of the book for you.
The book is written solely from Judith's viewpoint and from the first page we learn that something terrible happened to her. I don't think an exact time or place is ever stated, but I've been referring to it as "the horse and buggy days in a small coastal settlement somewhere". You instantly sympathize with her and with each page learn a little more about Judith "before" and Judith "after". How Judith "before" fell in love with a boy the first time she saw him. How Judith "after" knows she can't have him, but she still loves him and has to watch him court another girl. How Judith "before" loved to sing with her father. And how Judith "after" is now a "mute" and her father is gone. How Judith "before" had a best friend and how she watched her murder.
Judith's story is heartbreakingly devastating, yet it doesn't break her. She's a remarkable young woman and you'll find yourself laughing and crying with her through the entire book.
Start it and then try to put it down. I dare you =)
I SO agree! I also had the same inability to put it down as you did. I had kind of forgotten this book by the time I got my ARC in the mail, and then I read it in a single night ('til about 5am, so I think I win). I'm not sure I know the term "pinhole narrative", but I agree that the narrative structure was key. You know so little at the beginning that every page is like unveiling a mystery. Such a great entree into historical fiction for people who are wary of it, too, since it doesn't require any specific historical knowledge but has the right "feel." Nice review. (:
ReplyDeleteC.J.
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