Review : The Thing About The Truth by Lauren Barnholdt

Summary (from Goodreads)

Title : The Thing About The Truth
Author : Lauren Barnholdt
Publisher : Simon Pulse
Publication Date : July 10th 2012
Goodreads - The Book Depository


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.

 
Personal Thoughts

I have loved some of Lauren Barnholdt's previous books, so I when I learned that she had a new book out, I knew I had to get myself a copy of it. With a compelling summary as that of The Thing About the Truth, you can't really help but expect an engaging story line. I'm sad to say that this book completely failed to impress me and I had just too many issues with it to even like it.

The Thing About The Truth tells the story of two teens, Kelsey and Isaac, who have both been kicked out of their respective schools and meet on their first day at Concordia Public School. Kelsey and Isaac don't hit it off. Instead, they get into an argument. Soon after, Kelsey and Isaac fall for each other, but Kelsey's keeping a secret that could destroy their relationship.

I absolutely hated all the characters in this book. Honestly, I didn't find one normal character and I was very frustrated by every single one of them. It's very hard to enjoy a book when the characters don't have a single appealing trait to them and that's exactly what happened to me with The Thing About the Truth. The book was told in the POV of both Kelsey and Isaac. Both these characters were incredibly stuck-up and acted snobbish. Kelsey was a character who had a lot going on in her life ; cheating exes, inattentive parents and changing high school. Yet, I never sympathized with her because of the way she behaved. She acted like she was more important than anyone else and that her problems were "the end of the world" kind. Sure she had problems, but she never took the incentive to try to resolve them on her own. You guys have no idea on how many occasions I wanted to just get into the book and give her a few slaps. Plus, I didn't like how she had stereotypical views on every person she came across. However, my biggest problem with her was that she was one of the biggest hypocrites I have ever had to read about. I don't have good things to say on Isaac either. He was basically a spoiled brat. He too had "daddy issues" since his dad was a senator and wanted to show the public that his family had a pristine life, when it clearly wasn't behind closed doors. I also didn't like how his personality kept changing from a jerk to a perfectly good guy. Some of the secondary characters were very cliched. There was even the slutty popular girl who also liked the love interest, the so-called best friend who drops you when you change school and more. I think it's easy to see why none of the characters really struck with me. I wish they were a little more developed or eventually grew throughout the story. I think I would have liked them much better if that was the case.

I expected to at least enjoy the romance, but that too didn't happen. I guess I was already too mad at the characters to really like the romantic aspect. The chemistry and tension between the characters weren't exactly palpable. In my opinion, the romance was written in such a way that the author tells you that they fall in love, but never really shows it you. In a way, I never felt the love that Kelsey and Isaac shared. Plus, their whole relationship was kind of messed up, especially with Kelsey's lie. Now, the summary hints at a secret. I honestly thought that it would blow me away and totally shock me, but when it was finally revealed, which took the entire book, I wasn't awed. If I had to mention positive points on this book, it would have to be the fact that the dual POV was well-written. Also, the book was told in flashbacks, so the author knew how to keep the suspense a recurring element throughout the story.

While The Thing About the Truth wasn't my kind of book, it might be yours. I don't really like giving negative reviews, but once in a while I come across books that are not to my tastes. I guess my problem with this book was that I had too many issues to truly appreciate it. Sadly, it was a huge disappointment for me.

Rating

Cover : 3/5
Characters : 1/5
Plot : 2/5
Writing : 2/5