Review: The Thing About the Truth

The Thing About the Truth
Lauren Barnholdt
Publisher: Simone Pulse
Release Date: Junly 10, 2012

In this humorous love story from the author of Two-Way Street, an unlikely romance is the best sort of surprise—but the wrong secret can ruin everything. Kelsey’s not going to let one mistake ruin her life. Sure, she got kicked out of prep school and all her old friends are shutting her out. But Kelsey’s focused on her future, and she’s determined to get back on track at Concordia High.
Isaac’s been kicked out of more schools than he can count. Since his father’s a state senator, Isaac’s life is under constant scrutiny—but Concordia High’s his last stop before boarding school, so Isaac’s hoping to fly under the radar and try to stay put for a change.
When Kelsey and Isaac meet, it’s anything but love at first sight. She thinks he’s an entitled brat, and he thinks she’s a stuck-up snob. So it surprises them both when they start to fall for each other. Kelsey’s happy for the first time in months, and Isaac’s never felt this way about anyone before...But nothing’s ever completely perfect. Everyone has secrets, and Isaac and Kelsey are no exceptions. These two may have fallen hard, but there’s one thing that can ruin it all: the truth.

Prior to Reading: I love Lauren Barnholdt and I was really excited to read this one. 

Review: After being kicked out of her last school, Kelsey is determined to not let her one mistake ruin her life. Overall, I liked Kelsey. She's relatable in the sense that she just wants to get into a good college with good scholarships and is willing to work hard for it and not let anything get in her way. She was very closed off to everyone at first but learned to let up. Like I said, I liked her but she is not exactly a memorable character. And Isaac. He was funny and sweet, but I think he really over-reacted. 

I just found the book very anti-climatic. We spend the book knowing that something major went down and only getting clues as to what exactly happened. We know that Kelsey lied, but not about what. I was expecting something a lot more more dramatic and big. It seemed that everything was blown way out of proportion. And as far as the lie... Isaac had a right to be mad but like I said, he over-reacted. 

After everything was revealed and we found out what went down on Face It Down Day, everything was resolved rather quickly. Too quickly. It just that everyone made such a big deal out of everything, and then it was fine. I would have liked a little more struggle in the aftermath before the end of the book. 

Overall: I am a little disappointed by this edition the the Lauren Barnholdt collection. It's just that I love some of her other books and I wanted to love this one. It was still and enjoyable read; I just wanted more. 

Bronze Medal