The Almost Truth
Author: Eileen Cook
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Publication Date: December 12, 2012
Format: Hardcover borrowed from Toronto Public Library
My rating: 4.75 out of 5 stars
Synopsis:
From Goodreads: From the author of Unraveling Isobel and The Education of Hailey Kendrick, a smart, romantic novel about a teenage con artist who might be in over her head.
Sadie can’t wait to get away from her backwards small town, her delusional mom, her jailbird dad, and the tiny trailer where she was raised…even though leaving those things behind also means leaving Brendan. Sadie wants a better life, and she has been working steadily toward it, one con at a time.
But when Sadie’s mother wipes out Sadie’s savings, her escape plan is suddenly gone. She needs to come up with a lot of cash—and fast—or she’ll be stuck in this town forever.
With Brendan’s help, she devises a plan—the ultimate con—to get the money. But the more lies Sadie spins, the more she starts falling for her own hoax…and perhaps for the wrong boy. Sadie wanted to change her life, but she wasn’t prepared to have it flipped upside down by her own deception. With her future at stake and her heart on the line, suddenly it seems like she has a lot more than just money to lose…
Review:
The Almost Truth is one of those kind-of-perfectly-done books that only come up once in awhile. Sadie’s story is so well-drawn, so perfectly paced, so twisty-turny…without being cheesy or cliche. This is how you do a YA contemporary novel.
I can’t really explain why this worked so well for me. Maybe it was the fact that every time I thought I knew what was going to happen at the end, I turned a page and Eileen Cook showed me that she was one step ahead of me. Maybe it was the fact that I really didn’t know which boy to root for at first, or that if there was a love triangle, I couldn’t even call it that. Maybe it was how frustrated I got with Sadie’s parents and how horrible I felt they were being to her, only to find out that I might have been wrong about the whole thing.
I love it when I find books that are cleverly plotted and make decisions on what to show and what not to show. In The Almost Truth, I really felt that Cook’s decisions NOT to include certain scenes made a bigger impact on the novel as a whole. She trusted her readers to be able to fill in a lot of things by themselves. There are certain big, epic moments in narratives that we’ve all seen before – and sometimes the best way to deal with them is to let the reader play out those scenes the way they need to.
Can I geek out for a second about the writing? This is my first Eileen Cook novel, and I was blown away by her clarity and precision . It was so crisp and clear that I felt like I was in a writing masterclass. Every single description and line felt like it had been deliberated over in order to get the exact tone that Cook wanted. I know every writer puts a lot of effort into their words, but in this book, I really enjoyed every single sentence. There was no rush to get to the next part – I savoured each word.
Bonuses:
Mysterious Circumstances, But Not in a Paranormal Sense – you guys know I’m not into para stuff, right? That said, I do like a good mystery, and I love twists and turns in my books! This one has a great one.
Smart, Sassy Protagonist – I can totally picture Alex from The Descendants as Sadie. She’s smart, vulnerable and tough, and not afraid to tell it like it is.
The Bad Boy – Oh, Brendan. <sigh> You’re a total player, but you care so much about Sadie, and you totally want to do right by her and be by her side. Classic bad boy. Classic crush.
Love Triangle Done Right – I know a lot of people roll their eyes at love triangles, but I’m telling you, when it’s done right, it’s MASTERFUL. How do you do it right? Focus on the characters. Every character should just be a character with his/her own wants and needs, and it might happen that those wants and needs intersect. This one was hardly a triangle, which means it was totally done right.
The Final Word
I am SO glad that Eileen Cook’s acquisitions editor/agent saw the brilliance of her writing and got this book published. The Almost Truth is smart, perfectly-plotted, and a really great read. I was totally drawn in by Sadie’s snarky, fun personality and the mystery of the story. The romance and emotional payoff were awesome and authentic.
Recommended for:
Contemporary YA junkies, Ally Carter fans looking for something a little slower-paced, readers who like mature YA, and people who love really solid YA writing.
Have you read The Almost Truth or any of Eileen Cook’s other novels? What do you think?
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This. Sounds. Amazing. I am SO glad I follow you or I would never have heard about this. Loved your review and can't wait to read it 🙂
Thanks SO much, Sunny! You just made my day! You'll love it – it's really, really solid contemp.
Great review. Eileen is not only one of my favourite authors, but one of my favourite people. You should try her adult fiction and her other YAs and her middle grades.. She's awesome. 🙂
Whoa, how did I miss the fact that Maureen McGowan (author of Deviants, shameless plug) commented on my blog?! =)
Maureen, I've got Eileen's other two YAs on hold at the library already. She sounds like an awesome person. Hope I get to meet her someday!
Great review! This is currently up next on my TBR list and I'm even more excited to get started;)
Let me know what you think – I really think this book deserves a lot more love.
Thanks for the great review! Love the extras at the end:) Also love a well mastered love triangle! I'm definitely hoping to read this soon!
Glad you liked it, Erika. Let me know if you read it – I'd love to trade notes!
I really don't know if I must buy this book or just borrow it!! Great review by the way.
It's a fast read, but really, really solid. Up to you on buying or borrowing. I'm just trying to keep my bookshelves from toppling over…
Thanks for the headsup on this! Definitely going to check it out!
You should. Eileen killed me with her writing.
I like contemporary romance that isn't cheesy. And it has some mystery. I'm definitely going to check this out! 🙂
Definitely not cheesy. It's really impressively plotted. You'll love it!
I love the very cute cover! And the plot sounds great. I love para myself, but mystery is pretty darn amazing too! Thank you for the very great review!
I feel like the cover is almost too cute for what it is…thanks for commenting!
Ooh sounds good. I'll have to check this one out. Thanks for the review =)
Thanks for commenting!
This sounds really good!! I'll have to add it to my TBR list!!
Ashley A
You definitely should – it's a great, fast read. Enjoy!
I haven't read any books by Eileen Cook but this one sounds like a good read. Thanks for the review!
Thanks for commenting. You should definitely check out her books!
I have yet to read anything by Eileen Cook and I can't wait to change that! Thanks for the great review, adding this to my asap list!!
I've been wanting to read this book and now thanks to your reviews, I definitely want to read it! I'm glad I follow your blog!
This was my second YA contemporary read. Up to this point I was immersed in Twilight, The Hunger Games and Divergent. I really liked this book. It was an interesting storyline. I also liked Meant To Be by Lauren Morrill.
I have read the book a year ago and I love the characters as much as the plot. I don't what it is exactly about the book, but this is one of the great contemporary YA books I've read so far. Great review! 🙂
Thank you very much for this wonderful review