{Review} The Thing About the Truth by Lauren Barnholdt

The Thing About the Truth 
by Lauren Barnholdt
Publisher:  Simon Pulse
Pages:  304
Source:  Purchased
Available as of July 10, 2012
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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.

Lauren Barnholdt is one of my all-time favorite contemporary YA authors. I've loved all of her books because they've taught important life lessors and were so easy to get into. The Thing About the Truth wasn't any different, but it isn't my favorite book by her.

One small lie, no matter the reason for it, can change everything. Kelsey's world has turned upside down because one small lie she told Isaac. One unimportant lie that made everything blow up.

I loved Kelsey. Except for one small blip on her record, she is the perfect student. Isaac was my unexpected favorite character. He's the senators sun, but he's down to earth. His father put him in public school after getting kicked out of a bunch of private schools due to pranks he pulled on students and faculty.

As I stated, this wasn't my favorite novel by Lauren Barnholdt. The content was great, but the ending irked me. I fell that, while the lie Kelsey told wasn't a big deal, in the end she really got everything she wanted. Yes, she realized she should have told the truth to avoid the big blow up, but nothing, that we know of, was really taken from her. I fell like she got away with it unscathed. 

What I loved most about this book was the past and present chapters. I love when flashbacks/flashforwards are used. In this case, we know that things ended badly, but we don't know exactly why until the end. We are shown little bits of the current situation while the past unfolds to shed light on how everything unfolded. I also loved that we see things from both Kelsey and Isaac's perspectives. Multiple POVs are great when we need to know motives behind the characters actions. 

Overall, The Thing About the Truth was a quick, captivating read that any YA contemporary fan would enjoy. While I wasn't a fan of the ending, you may enjoy it.