Nothing But Reading Challenges discussion

This topic is open for discussion about The Truth About Alice by Jennifer Mathieu



Book synopsis
Everyone knows Alice slept with two guys at one party.

But did you know Alice was sexting Brandon when he crashed his car?

It's true. Ask ANYBODY.

Rumor has it that Alice Franklin is a slut. It's written all over the bathroom stall at Healy High for everyone to see. And after star quarterback Brandon Fitzsimmons dies in a car accident, the rumors start to spiral out of control.

In this remarkable debut novel, four Healy High students—the girl who has the infamous party, the car accident survivor, the former best friend, and the boy next door—tell all they know.

But exactly what is the truth about Alice? In the end there's only one person to ask: Alice herself.

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Checking in for this one too!!

Starting tomorrow. I have to finish first.

Landline is a good one too - I love Rainbow Rowell!

I'll start tonight or tomorrow depending on RL!

Starting this one now... :)

Chapter 8

So far it seems to be different perspectives of Alice and (view spoiler)[what happened at a party - but mostly just about Alice. How they knew her and their interactions with her. For the most part, I'm liking Alice more than most of them... Sounds like she was a pretty good friend and didn't have much parent supervision but looking for attention through the boys...maybe... Or maybe that is just everyone's perspective..
(hide spoiler)]

Chapter 11
(view spoiler)[ Poor Alice! Even her "best friend" turned on her - big time.
Sometimes I forget how hard it was in high school and wanting to fit in and be liked. But this is just overboard insecurity...
(hide spoiler)]

So I started 10 minutes ago. I'm only 1 chapter in but oh my am I grateful that this is written from different perspectives and we're not stuck with Elaine. What a superficial bitchy bimbo.

HaHa! No kidding - Elaine and Kelsie both!

Kristin, are you an American? Can you tell me how old these kids are supposed to be? We're having a different educational system here.

Re Elaine: She could never be THAT popular here, poor lamb, her level of stupidity would prevent that.

Yep, I'm an American and these are HS kids and I guess Tommy is a College freshman. The HS kids I think are around 17.

My son is 17. Yikes! (My daughter will be a HS freshman next year.. She's 13.). I'm not ready! Lol!

I'm glad to here that - Elaine is incredibly superficial but look at her mom.. Putting her daughter on weight watchers as a HS kid and you know she is far from overweight!

Course her mom just wants a "buddy"

I'm having a harder time stomaching Kelsie and I didn't like Brandon at all... Is that ok to say - given everything??

Thanks. I wasn't sure I thought they might be older.

You know this thing probably wouldn't have happened here at all. You are not allowed to drink alcohol or drive a car until 18. There is zero tolerance to drinking while driving. If you are stopped and your levels indicate any alcohol in your blood you lose your driving licence for a year and are heavily fined (around 500 USD).

Kristin ~ Experiment in Terror Junkie wrote: "My son is 17. Yikes! (My daughter will be a HS freshman next year.. She's 13.). I'm not ready! Lol!"

I feel for you, teenagers at home, has to be hard. Lol! :)
What I really want to ask is this: is the American high schooling really as bad as we're shown in the TV shows like Glee or in the movies? All that bullying and ostracism it seems so extreme. It can't be that bad in RL, can it?

Kids here can get their license at 16.5 years and the legal drinking age is 21.. However, there is quite a bit of under age drinking that happens unfortunately. Usually if an athlete gets caught drinking or at a party where the police show up, they are usually suspended from the team for basically half the season. I think if the penalties were more harsh, there likely wouldn't be so much under age drinking. Drinking & driving is the bigger no-no here, no matter what the age.

I'm guessing the drinking and driving in the book had more to do with the town being so small maybe? Or the kids are just so stupid..

I totally get the under age drinking I guess it happens everywhere. It's universal that kids just want to try what's forbidden. I just mean that they have to be extra stupid to drink and drive not to mention that Brandon didn't use his seatbelt.

Welcome Agnes. Feel free to join our discussion. :)

Kristin ~ Experiment in Terror Junkie wrote: "I'm guessing the drinking and driving in the book had more to do with the town being so small maybe? Or the kids are just so stupid.."

I would expect it to be the other way round. If the town is small enough that everybody knows your name it's more probable that anything bad you do will come back to your parents just so much more quickly. Yeah but kids are stupid esp where their safety is concerned. They tend to believe they're invincible.

Small town HS is horrible. In a small town, there's usually a more defined set of 'popular' people, who will go on to hold the major positions in town politics if they don't leave. A lot of them stay, because it's hard to go from being a big fish in a small pond to a small fish in a big pond.

The town I went to HS in isn't as small as this one, but the HS girls and boys were very similar in behavior to these. If anything it was worse, because all of the threats and comments they can deliver on Facebook had to be delivered in person. I don't know if it's the same now as it was in the 80s. They make a big show of being anti-bully, but the same prejudices exist.

Back to the book - Elaine is awful! so right - I wouldn't be able to tolerate her for an entire book.

With Brandon we heard how he was able to turn in a blank test for an "A" because of who he is and what he contributes to the football team. So you can kind of see where Brandon didn't think he needed to follow any of the rules ~ he's used to people looking the other way.

@ Cynthia
That's just terrible. I won't pretend that there's no bullying at our schools but I think that having no official HS football teams and cheerleaders helps a lot. If you're talented in sports then you go to a specilised HS where other kids are also very good at sports so there's not this artificial inequality between kids.

I'm 33 and back when I was at HS it was considered cool to be smart. I remember my prom, the unofficial queen of the prom was this pale ginger girl with like a bazilion of frecles and rather big unshapely nose who was really smart and witty. Later, she went to study atomic science.

I think that's awesome Zuzana!

HS can be so difficult with importance placed on the wrong things (IMO) but usually it gets better in college.

I agree - I definitely appreciated the honest moments in this book.

I'm 25% in and so far this book makes me really sad. It's all so depressing. Everybody is either dumb, downright stupid, hypocritical or a liar.

I wonder what is the thing Kurt hints at, the important thing nobody else knows.

Kelsie & Alice (view spoiler)[I think that the reason Alice lied about Mark was that she was ashamed of herself. How stupid and mean to make up a reason that is supposed to shame your best friend (like virginity at 17 is something to be ashamed of) instead of telling her the truth. And Kelsie just believed that.

Anyway how stupid these kids can get? Drunk swimming. Two girls and two older boys alone by the pool all of them drunk. How could they be so stupid? (hide spoiler)]

Kristin ~ Experiment in Terror Junkie wrote: "Chapter 8
...
For the most part, I'm liking Alice more than most of them... Sounds like she was a pretty good friend and didn't have much parent supervision but looking for attention through the boys...maybe."

It sure seems that way. I wonder about her mother though. If what Kelsie implied about her is true it might be one of the reasons for Alice's behavior.

Zuzana wrote: "I'm 25% in and so far this book makes me really sad. It's all so depressing. Everybody is either dumb, downright stupid, hypocritical or a liar. ..."

That about sums it up!

(view spoiler)[As far as the drinking and swimming goes, though...I imagine the teenagers in Texas are a lot like teenagers in southern Louisiana. In the summer, if we could find a pool we were in it, and if someone had beer we drank it. I never brought alcohol to school, but some kids did. And of course it wasn't unusual for people to smoke a joint before school.
(hide spoiler)]

At my work we have an IT specialist who is in a wheelchair. The result of such a party, he was drunk and decided that jumping head first into the pool at its shallow end would be a great idea. His spinal cord was severed somewhere in the chest area so not only his legs and lower body but his arms and hands are partially paralyzed, too. He was about 25 when that happenend. His girlfriend left him right away so his mother took care of him. It's really sad. It was a company party and I think that's the only reason the company hadn't fired him. They felt partially responsible even if there was no legal responsibility on their part.

I've lost track of how many funerals I attended between 15 and 25 that were alcohol related. Some were drunk drivers, and some were the victims of drunk drivers. It seemed to slack off after 25. I can only recall one person since then.

More people are in accidents related to texting or otherwise fiddling with their phones, now.

Cynthia wrote: "I've lost track of how many funerals I attended between 15 and 25 that were alcohol related. Some were drunk drivers, and some were the victims of drunk drivers. It seemed to slack off after 25. I ..."

That's crazy. At high school I attended one funeral - it was our Latin teacher, she was 70 years old. No kids died, everybody lived.

Agnès wrote: "I've never attended a funeral that was alcohol related. I don't know if it is because it's illegal for us to drive until we're 18 in France.
..."

The scary thing is that they do it without thought, it's totally normal to them that they drink alcohol and drive. Look at Josh. He even believes that in a small town like Healy it's SAFE to drink and drive. And he thinks that AFTER Brandon died. Could these kids be more idiotic if they tried?

Re Kelsie: I feel sad about her behaving like she does because she has depth and potential to be a better person. She's just weak and unhealthily obsessed with being "popular".

I'm just starting this one now.

Kristin ~ Experiment in Terror Junkie wrote: "With Brandon we heard how he was able to turn in a blank test for an "A" because of who he is and what he contributes to the football team. So you can kind of see where Brandon didn't think he nee..."

A spoilt brat, inconsiderate to feelings of people around him. (view spoiler)[The lies he spread about Alice weren't meant to "save his reputation" as local Don Juan they were aimed to hurt and punish Alice for refusing his drunken advances. That's why he invented the other guy slept with her as well. He wanted to ruin her. What a bastard. (hide spoiler)]

What do you think about Josh? It was mentioned that (view spoiler)[he doesn't date and the scene after the party might have been there to give us a hint about his sexual orientation. Or was it just coincidence? (hide spoiler)] I just hope that what I suspect about him wasn't what got Brandon distracted before the accident and the texts aren't just another elaborate lie.

The hypocricy is a big theme of this book. Alice is blamed for wrongdoings that the people who accused her commited themselves. (view spoiler)[ Elaine blamed her for sleeping with Brandon. She did that herself. Kelsie blamed Alice for liyng about having sex with a boy. Later, she did that herself and unlike Alice she didn't come clean. She accused Alice of having an abortion. She had one herself. I wonder if Josh won't be another one to be added to this list. (hide spoiler)] It's sickening.

erghh just read the 1st chapter and even before we know her I do NOT like Elaine, what a bitch !!

God you can totally see how a girls life can be ruined by just a silly rumour!

Her mom made her go to weight watchers!?!?! Wtf ???

I'm done. I was really upset when 3 chapters before the end (view spoiler)[Alice "broke up" with Kurt. I was like "Oh, no, don't do this! Don't ruin the only good thing that came out of this mess!" I was hoping she would think about it all some more and come to the conclusion that that one friendship was too precious to lose. And she did. So I'm kinda happy about the ending.

And I hate that I was right about Josh and "his" lie. (hide spoiler)]

This book almost made me sick. I hated most of the characters. But even though they did horrible things they seemed real enough to me. I belive that kids like these are out there and that they could just that easily ruin a young life without second thoughts. It's really depressing.

V Audio Nerd wrote: "Her mom made her go to weight watchers!?!?! Wtf ???"

Yup, Alice's and Kelsie's mums are terrible, too. Wait till you get there.

The only tolerable mother figure in the book is Kurt's grandma.

Zuzana wrote: "Kristin ~ Experiment in Terror Junkie wrote: "With Brandon we heard how he was able to turn in a blank test for an "A" because of who he is and what he contributes to the football team. So you can..."

Zuzana - (view spoiler)[ I TOTALLY AGREE with your thoughts on Brandon! Such a jerk - punishing Alice for turning him down. Plus, when he was reading Elaine's diary out loud and his eyes were just vacant... Something was wrong with him. Like he can just be so evil and not care at all how much he hurts other people.

Ya, I think Josh is gay and into Brandon. He tried shifting the blame to Alice by making up the texting between the two (Brandon & Alice). Whereas Brandon's intentions seemed totally evil in trying to hurt someone else as payback ~ Josh (& even Kelsie) both hurt Alice as a way to shift attention away from something about them that they think would lose their "popularity"...
Sad...
(hide spoiler)]

Kristin, re Josh: (view spoiler)[I was afraid that what happened in the car was that Josh came out to Brandon. Knowing what we do about Brandon I wouldn't have been suprised to learn that he was a homophobic asshole. Could you imagine that confrontation?

I was almost relieved that wasn't what happened. (hide spoiler)]

I really like how you explained (view spoiler)[the difference between the lies told by Brandon and Josh & Kelsie. Throughout the book despite the reprehensible things they (mostly Kelsie) did I still felt that they were better people than Brandon. (hide spoiler)]

Zuzana wrote: "Kristin, re Josh: I was afraid that what happened in the car was that Josh came out to Brandon. Knowing what we do about Brandon I wouldn't have been suprised to learn that he was a homophobic assh..."

I really thought that (view spoiler)[ Josh may have "come out" to Brandon (or "came on" to) Brandon too! I'm thinking Mr Jock would have indeed freaked out... (hide spoiler)]

Agnès wrote: "I've just finished the book.

Kritin & Zuzana, Brandon : [spoilers removed]

Brandon, Josh and Kelsie [spoilers removed]"

This was such a good book to buddy read as it was very thought provoking with all the different characters and interactions.

At first, I was puzzled why (view spoiler)[Josh's lie indicated Alice as the sender of the texts and why he claimed that those texts were sleazy. Then it was made clear. I think that Josh subconciously blamed Alice for the accident. She was the reason Brandon picked up his phone in the first place. Moreover, he may have perceived her as his rival for Brandon's attention (or affection). Remember that Josh never found out that Alice didn't sleep with Brandon at the party. In this situation it was easy to shift the blame from himself to Alice. Josh may have even believed the lie (or the gist of the lie) at the time he told it. (hide spoiler)]

Kelsie (view spoiler)[I don't feel that generous about Kelsie. She was fully aware that she wass telling a lie. And unlike Josh she wasn't pressed to tell anything. It was her decision. The same goes for the Slutty stall. It was her invention. (hide spoiler)]

Kristin ~ Experiment in Terror Junkie wrote: "This was such a good book to buddy read as it was very thought provoking with all the different characters and interactions. "

I totally agree. There's so much to discuss.

We were kinda stuck on the "baddies". What did you think about Kurt?

Zuzana wrote: "At first, I was puzzled why [spoilers removed]"

(view spoiler)[ I think he was so jealous that Brandon was spending so much time focusing on Alice. As the one girl who has rejected him, he couldn't stop thinking about her. And Josh wanted Brandon to be thinking about him, even if he didn't really understand what those feelings were saying about himself. Maybe he isn't gay, maybe he's curious or he has confused feelings about Brandon. Who knows? Either way, it's the jealousy that prompted him to blurt out the lies about Alice. Fear and jealousy.

Most of the kids lied because they were afraid. Even Brandon. They have to have something to hold onto, even if it's lies. (hide spoiler)]

Loved Kurt! He's not perfect and was glad it wasn't expected of him to be. :)

Loved how Alice was so strong and faced Kelsie straight on.. (view spoiler)[Wished K was able to reciprocate

Laughed when Elaine told Alice she could eat lunch with them. Alice handled it well.. Without malice... I was impressed. (hide spoiler)]

So glad you found this book Z!!