{Review} All the Truth That's In Me by Julie Berry

All the Truth That's In Me
by Julie Berry
Pages: 274
Release Date: September 26, 2013
by Viking (an imprint of Penguin)

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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.

*REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS*

They are whited out so you can only read them if you highlight the text

 

This book is unlike anything I’ve ever read before.   It had such a unique writing style and story line.  It was dark, haunting, disturbing, gritty, yet beautiful.  You can tell, from the very first page, that this book is different.  The story is told in second person, and the timeline keeps switching, past, present, past, present.  It takes time for the history to unfold itself, but it never got boring.  I wasn’t at all confused about the time changes because past was when Judith could talk, and present was when she couldn’t. It’s very hard to describe this book and the story line.  It was certainly unique, but so much was going on, and there was never a boring part.  The staging was phenomenal and there was always something we didn’t know, always something that kept us reading.  The way the ending wrapped up the whole book was perfect, and it all made sense.  I loved how in the end it kept switching from past to present really fast so we saw things unfolding right before the big revelation. There were no plot holes, no mistakes.  And couldn’t believe that ending!

The unique pov, you would think, wouldn’t allow for much character growth.  But Judith is such an amazing character!  I really admire her because if I was in her situation, ridiculed by the whole town and shunned constantly, I wouldn’t be nearly as nice as she was.  The way Judith handled her situation and was always kind to those who were mean to her made me respect her.  I liked how, while she loved Lucas, she didn’t let it consume her and make her into a puppy with starcrossed eyes following her crush.  She was able to separate her love and her life.

Lucas, I must say, is a very appealing character.  Theirs is something so attractive about him and mysterious.  He seems like such a nice guy, very caring and gentle. [SPOILER:  I smiled so much at the end when (FINALLY) they got together! ]

The writing in this book was absolutely phenomenal and so impressive.  I have never seen an author pull off a novel like this, and I can’t recommend it enough!

5 stars