Review: The Truth About Us by Janet Gurtler

The Truth About Us by Janet Gurtler

Publication Date: April 7, 2015
Page Count: 320
Published by:  Sourcebooks Fire
Source: eArc received from publisher in exchange for an honest review

Synopsis from Goodreads:

The truth is that Jess knows she screwed up.
She's made mistakes, betrayed her best friend, and now she's paying for it. Her dad is making her spend the whole summer volunteering at the local soup kitchen.

The truth is she wishes she was the care-free party-girl everyone thinks she is.
She pretends it's all fine. That her "perfect" family is fine. But it's not. And no one notices the lie...until she meets Flynn. He's the only one who really sees her. The only one who listens.

The truth is that Jess is falling apart – and no one seems to care.
But Flynn is the definition of "the wrong side of the tracks." When Jess's parents look at him they only see the differences-not how much they need each other. They don't get that the person who shouldn't fit in your world... might just be the one to make you feel like you belong.

The Truth About Us presents readers with several important social issues which were dealt with in a realistic manner. If you follow my blog at all, you may know that I love contemporary YA. I don't make any secret of that. I also prefer to read a lighter story, so this book was a great choice for me because it wasn't a heavy handed 'issues' book.

Jess was just an okay character to me. I did appreciate that she grew throughout the book, and she learned to take responsibility for her actions. She was pretty shallow at first, so I was glad she was able to change. Flynn seemed almost too perfect, and I really liked him up to a certain point. But then I just couldn't figure out the reasons for some of his actions and his likability went down for me. What really saved this book for me were 2 secondary characters that I enjoyed very much - Kyle and Wilf. You'll have to read the book to find out why I liked them so much!

The Truth About Us takes a hard and honest look at friendship and family, and taking responsibility for your actions. I thought it had wonderful writing and a varied cast of characters. This was the first book I have read from Janet Gurtler, but it won't be the last.

My rating: 3 of 5 stars