samantha_randolph's Reviews (1.59k)

"Clare Cermak, accountant, has just inherited her 'crazy' aunt's wealth and estate. Unfortunately, she also seems to have inherited a gift of interacting with ghosts. Apparently, her aunt was a medium, one who helped ghosts cross over, and now, that gift is in Clare's hands. Failure to accept her gift will leave her dead or crazy. As she battles with accepting, ex-deputy sheriff, Zach, runs into her and the two hit it off...until ghost business gets in the way. The two will have to team up and help a particularly famous ghost or face the fallout of a ghost gone pyscho." Full review at Fresh Fiction: http://freshfiction.com/review.php?id=43267

"When Isabelle de Piaget receives a mysterious message telling her to go to France or else her family will die, she immediately sets out to leave, dressed as a lad. Unfortunately, after an accident along the way, she loses her memories and is saved by a lord whose politeness seems to have left him long ago. The lord, Gervase de Seger, tries to put her to work, thinking she is a boy, but when he finds out exactly who she is, a woman and a lady nonetheless, he has to decide if he should confront her or see if any other secrets come up. As more mysterious threats arise towards them both, they will have to put aside their distrust and band together to find out who is behind the threats." Full review at Fresh Fiction: http://freshfiction.com/review.php?id=43268

"Once upon a time, Rowan Areno was just a girl skipping school with her best friend, hoping not to get caught by her overprotective policeman father. When tragedy hits, Rowan knows she will never be the same. It doesn't help that the tragedy might have been prevented if she had only stayed in school that day. In the struggles of grief, Rowan will have to discover if happiness is every something she can find again." Full review at Fresh Fiction: http://freshfiction.com/review.php?id=43271

"Thanks to her mother's "Mommylicious" parenting blog, fifteen-year-old Imogene has been viciously trying to escape her resulting label as "Babylicious". She's tired of her classmates teasing her, and random strangers knowing things about her like when she got her first period. When one her teachers assigns a blogging project, Imogene decides it's time to take a stand once and for all. As the online battle begins, Imogene will have to figure out how far she's willing to go to get her mom to learn the meaning of privacy." Full review at Fresh Fiction: http://freshfiction.com/review.php?id=43289

"For years, Ellie Stratham has patiently (mostly) served her uncle's family to pay off her deceased father's debt. But even though she is part of that family, they treat her as the lowest of servants. To escape, Ellie writes and illustrates fairytales in her room late at night, dreaming of a life of independence. While running an errand for her cousin, Ellie is kidnapped by the notorious scoundrel, Damien Burke, in a case of mistaken identity. Now trapped with her captor during a winter storm, Ellie learns that her safety might not be as much at stake as her heart." Full review at Fresh Fiction: http://freshfiction.com/review.php?id=43300

"Imperial Princess Celeste knows the only marriage she can have is a political one, but when she meets her potential betrothed, Prince Rayn, she knows what she really wants is passion and love. Prince Rayn, though sorely needing political advantage, has no desire to marry a princess of Kjall, whose previous ruler murdered a member of his own family, but Celeste is sweeter, prettier, and more intelligent than he ever thought, and he may not be able to resist. With political plots and assassination attempts surrounding them, they will have to team up to save both their countries and take the risk of actually falling in love." Full review at Fresh Fiction: http://freshfiction.com/review.php?id=43330

"Princess Catherine is tired of being the perfect, always controlled royal. For once, she wants to be her normal, twenty-one year old "Cathy" self, not to mention she's ready to once and for all stop being a virgin. When David comes into the picture, she knows she has found her target, but what she doesn't expect is that she might be in for more than a lust-only relationship." Full review at Fresh Fiction: http://freshfiction.com/review.php?id=43368

"All but one member of the royal family of Cello is missing. As the only one present, teen Princess Ko must assemble a team to find her family while also keeping her court unaware of their lacking presence. Part of the team is farm boy Elliot, who mainly got chosen for his connection to the World, also known as England, through a girl named Madeleine who he exchanges letters with. Princess Ko suspects her family may be in the World, and it will be up to Elliot and Madeleine to use their connection to find the missing royals." Full review at Fresh Fiction: http://freshfiction.com/review.php?id=43388

Short and Sweet:
Incredibly gripping and quick to read, I loved every page of this realistic fiction story about one girl who can't catch a break and the people who are breaking her heart. I especially enjoyed the happier-than-expected ending!

To Elaborate..
Everyone knows that Alice slept with two guys, Brandon and Tommy, one night at Elaine's party. Well, everyone except Alice that is. The rumors of her 'slutty personality' only spiral when one of the guys dies in a car wreck a few weeks later. Told from flipping perspectives of Elaine, Brandon's best friend: Josh, Alice's ex-best friend: Kelsie, and the one true friend Alice might actually have: Kurt, Alice's story is revealed.
From the very beginning of this powerful novel, Jennifer Mathieu had me making faces like this:


Not because I get excited over death or tragedy or anything like that, but because she does a BRILLIANT job of addressing issues like fat-shaming, slut-shaming, daddy issues, and hyper-religious parents all in a subtle, not-in-your-face-at-all way. This is a book that can start discussions, which is one of the best parts of literature. The English major part of me is so tempted to write a paper analyzing the heck out of this novel.

However, even on an entertainment level, The Truth About Alice is such a good story. I loved getting to know the different characters and finding separate ways to appreciate them; from Elaine's somehow kind vanity to Kelsie's brutal honesty and from Josh's sexual repression to Kurt's incredibly caring nature. It was so great to read about their lives and to see Alice through their perspectives. They each had their own problems to work through, though Alice's story is the one guiding them through their own. All are wonderfully flawed, and I came to care about them so much (especially Kurt, aka the most adorable, loving genius).

It's hard to give any 'if you like x book, you would probably like this one' suggestions, because it really has such a strong and original voice to it, but I imagine fans of The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Ellen Hopkins, and John Green would enjoy this. Regardless, I absolutely recommend giving it a try!
5 Hearts!! (1 for Elaine, 1 for Kelsie, 1 for Kurt, 1 for Josh, and 1 for Alice) :)

Originally posted at I Heart YA Fiction: http://iheartyafiction.blogspot.com/2014/05/review-truth-about-alice-by-jennifer.html

"Zoe knows most people just put up with her sarcastic attitude because of how kind her best friend, Olivia, is. When Olivia is diagnosed with leukemia, the whole cheerleading squad rallies to help, but Zoe knows when it comes to cancer, there isn't much they can do. As Zoe struggles to keep a happy face for Olivia, her heart breaks more and more at the thought of her best friend hurting, and things only get worse when Zoe finds herself falling for Calvin, the boy Olivia has a crush on. Zoe, determined to be there for Olivia, will bury every bad emotion she has as long as Olivia will survive, because anything reality other than that is inconceivable." Full review at Fresh Fiction: http://freshfiction.com/review.php?id=43724