Author: Jennifer Mathieu
Source: From the publisher
Series: Standalone
Rating: 4/5
Goodreads Summary:
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.
This is a super short book that delivers a powerful story. The chapter's are each from a different point of view of people's opinion about Alice. We see how people who don't know Alice and people who were not even at the party perceive Alice and how a rumour at a party manages to turn almost an entire school against Alice and how powerful words can be.
The story starts with every one's reactions to the humors that start flying about Alice after a party. The first rumour is Alice had sex with two guys in one night at the party. The rumours almost go unnoticed until one of the guys Alice is accused of sleeping with, Brandon dies in a car accident and Alice is blamed. Her best friend turns on her and more humours start flying around. Alice tries her best to handle everything coming at her, but slowly Alice becomes more withdrawn. Kurt who has always admired Alice from a distance becomes her only friend. The story is told from the perspective of Josh who is a jock and a close friend of Brandon who first blames Alice for the accident. The other character who really causes tension is Kelsie who is Alice's ex-best friend. We also get a view of the story from the outside through the eyes of Kurt who is a shy genius who is biding his time until he can leave for college and finally from the point of view of Elaine who is Brandon's on and off girlfriend. The things they say and do to Alice are horrible, and sadly the things Alice goes through are things teenagers go through everyday.
This author shows both the dark side and the good side of high school and I feel like she portrayed it realistically. Alice is clearly hurt by what is happening but she is resilient and she finds a way to make it through. Kurt is also an amazing character, he knows he is different but instead of shying away from this he embraces it and acknowledges how different he is from other people in his high school. The secrets of the people who attack Alice starts to emerge and gives a lot of difference perspectives of the story. I love the ending of this book, it was not perfectly tied up and it was not a completely happy ending. There was a lot of things left unsaid.
I really cannot express how much I enjoyed this book. It was so good and me trying to explain it in a review is not going to do it justice so you should read it and recommend it to everyone.
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