All the Truth That's In Me
by
Julie Berry
Title: All the Truth That's In Me
Author: Julie Berry
Publisher: Templar Publishing
Release Date: 31st August 2013
Formats Available: Hardback, Ebook
Buy This Book: Amazon
Judith and her friend
Lottie both disappeared from their village four years ago and when
Lotties body is found dumped in the river everyone presumes that
Judith met the same fate. So when two years later Judith returns
home, with her tongue missing the village are more than shocked. They
believe God saw fit to punish her and that is why someone has cut out
her tongue. They treat her as an outcast and even her mother forbids
her from trying to speak. She has spent the last two years as a
pariah in her pilgrim-like town. The only way she has dealt with it
is to follow and long for Lucas Whiting, the young man she has been
in love with since she was a little girl. When her town comes under
attack Judith must find her voice and go back to face the man who
kept her captive for so long. Judith has no idea just how much this
decision will affect the village or her future.
The place I want to
start with this review is the blurb. I read it on Netgalley.com and
have to admit I was immediately intrigued but also confess I did not
realise it was a historical fiction book. It was unclear to me what
time period it was actually set in and I wish this was more clear as
it made it hard for me to get in to the book at first. The blurb lead
me to believe that the attack on her village and her return to her
captor was the main storyline to this book. So when I discovered that
this only led up to about a quarter of the way through the book I was
quite surprised. It did throw me off a little bit as I hadn't seen it
coming, but I am so glad that was the case. Really this book was
about the after effects of Judith's decision to go back to her captor
and ask for his help to save her village. The rediscovery of a man
presumed dead leaves a lot of unanswered questions to what happened
all those years ago to Lottie and Judith. The book is also told from
Judiths point of view as if she were talking to Lucas, another thing
I did not expect but surprisingly enjoyed; it's something I don't see
to often in books.
I want to tell you
about the parts of this book I loved but I must admit there are quite
a few so please stick with me. I don't want to just say “the
characters” but was tempted as I actually adored so many of them
for different reasons. My favourite character was Judith, the idea of
the main character and narrator of a book who is unable to converse
with others seemed so strange to me. I was a bit worried that it
would make her harder to connect with but I was so wrong. Her voice
was incredible, the way she handles herself and the treatment she
receives from the village really touched me. She seemed so brave and
also so strong and the deep feelings she has for Lucas were so
believable to me. How she reacts to news of his impending wedding, or
how she feels when he asks her questions about her time in captivity
almost made me well up, that's how real her emotions felt to me when
I was reading them. The author actually made me feel like I was
reading someones personal letters to someone she loves.
I must talk about
Lucas, the young man Judith has loved for as long as she can
remember. I was glad to find a male love interest in a book that
wasn't just an amazingly attractive man and little else. He had a
personality, makes mistakes and is so blind to Judith's feelings for
him that I wanted to knock some sense in to him.
The friendship that
developed throughout the book between Maria and Judith was really
beautiful and I glad someone was willing to give Judith a chance and
not just judge her for her missing tongue and what that might mean.
The development of Judith's relationship with her mother was always
something I enjoyed. I struggled to understand her mother and why she
was not completely ecstatic that her daughter was returned home to
her alive and well. But that is the time they are living with and
that was something that I had to get used to.
The story of this book
did keep me guessing throughout which I liked; it can get quite
boring reading books that you can tell exactly how they are going to
play out. It was part historical, part romance and part crime
mystery; and what a great mix that was. I loved the second half of
this book the most, which was centred more around on the after
effects of Judith bringing her captor back, it leaves a lot of
unanswered questions and the town are determined to uncover the
truth.
I really want to give
some reasons why I didn't like the review so I can feel like I was
objective but I can't help it. I really enjoyed this book and can't
really say I didn't like it. My only point would be that I don't
think the blurb really showed what the book was going to be about
which really threw me at the beginning and made it difficult for me
to get into the book.
All I can really tell
you about this book is what I loved about it and why I enjoyed it so
much. I know everyone likes different genres and types of books so I
can't guarantee you will like this book but I would really recommend
this. It touched me and had me close to tears at one point but also
tempted to throw the book across the room as I didn't like where it
was headed and I was actually tempted to do a Joey from friends and
put the book in the freezer. If Julie Berry writes anymore Young
Adult fiction I am going to be there waiting to grab it as soon as it
hits shelf. I loved this!
4/5 Stars
P.S When I finished the book I wanted to see what others had thought about it, in hopes they loved it as much as me. So when googling reviews I was so happy I came across this one at findingblissinbooks, it made me laugh so hard at the end. Glad wasn't the only person who sat there trying to talk like I didn't have a tongue.
P.S When I finished the book I wanted to see what others had thought about it, in hopes they loved it as much as me. So when googling reviews I was so happy I came across this one at findingblissinbooks, it made me laugh so hard at the end. Glad wasn't the only person who sat there trying to talk like I didn't have a tongue.
*I received a copy of this novel from the author/publisher/publicist via
Netgalley in exchange for a free and honest review and received no
monetary compensation for this review.
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