Title: All The Truth That’s In Me
Author: Julie Berry
Genre: YA, Historical Fiction, Mystery
First published: August 31st 2013
Finished reading: January 6th 2016
Pages: 310
“I don’t believe in miracles, but if the need is great, a girl might make her own miracle.”
People have recommended All The Truth That’s In Me to me various times and I finally got a copy of this novel last year. I decided to read it during the Bout Of Books read-a-thon, but I had forgotten what it was about… And I was more than pleasantly surprised to find out that it was actually a historical fiction novel and not a contemporary romance story like I assumed from the cover. First of all, I take my virtual hat off for Julie Berry, because her prose is both beautiful and highly original. She blew me away with this heartbreaking and very well written story, and I came really close to giving this the highest rating. Why didn’t I? I wasn’t fully convinced by some of the characters and their (lack of) actions. Still, this is only a minimal complaint for an otherwise really strong story. The historical setting is intriguing; the exact date is never mentioned, but it shows the story probably took place before the 20th century. Reading the thoughts of the main character, you slowly find out what really happened to her and only learn the full truth at the very end… Really making you connect with her even though I admit found her annoying at points. If you like historical fiction and appreciate beautiful and original prose, All The Truth That’s In Me is waiting for you to read it.
Four years ago, Judith and her best friend Lottie disappeared from their small town named Roswell Station. Everybody thought both of them dead, especially after Lottie’s body washed up… But against all odds, Judith returns two years later. She is not the same innocent girl as she was before, as her captor had cut her tong out and she was not longer able to speak… And the inhabitants of Roswell Station treat her like she is no longer worthy to be part of the community. Judith lives as a ghost in her own home, forced to be silent as her own mother forbids her to try to speak. She still craves for her childhood friend Lucas, who she has been in love with ever since she can remember even though he doesn’t know… But now she is mutilated Judith knows Lucas would never want to be with her. One day Roswell Station is attacked, and Judith will have to choose: live in silence and see her town destroyed, or reveal her secrets and use her unsteady voice to save the town that has cast her aside…
It’s really hard to explain just how beautiful and original the prose of this novel is. I know it will probably not be to everyone’s taste, but I personally thought it was brilliant. The story itself is both heartbreaking, emotional, full of hope and on top of that very well written. All The Truth That’s In Me is a historical fiction novel where you slowly find out what really happened to the main character Judith and see her character evolve. It’s a very interesting story I would definitely recommend if you like the genre!
