The Truth According to Us

Reviews

“[The Truth According to Us is] as delightfully eccentric as Guernsey yet refreshingly different. . . . It’s an epic but intimate family novel with richly imagined characters, an intriguing plot and the social sensibilities you would expect of a story set in the South. . . . The traumatized girls, Willa and Bird, are exquisitely portrayed and the lasting damage caused by the abandonment is sensitively rendered. Willa’s indomitable spirit, keen sense of adventure and innate intelligence reminded me of two other motherless girls in literature: Scout Finch in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird and Flavia de Luce in Alan Bradley’s big-hearted British mystery series. If Guernsey is a tribute to the power of books, The Truth According to Us is a testament to the toxicity of secrets. . . . Just as we did in Guernsey, we empathize with the characters as if they’re our neighbors. . . . Macedonia is a great place to spend some time this summer. The temperatures are soaring, but it’s nothing compared to the heat generated by this sizzling story.”—The Washington Post

“Annie Barrows creates a worthy successor to Lee’s beloved Scout Finch. . . . The Truth According to Us has all the characteristics of a great summer read: A plot that makes you want to keep turning the pages; a setting that makes you feel like you’re inhabiting another time and place; and characters who become people you’re sad to leave behind—and thus who always stay with you. As Jottie tells Willa at the beginning of the book, the ‘Macedonian virtues’ are ferocity and devotion. The Truth According to Us is the sort of book that inspires both.”—Miami Herald
 
“It takes a brave author to make the heroine of a new novel an observant and feisty girl . . . like Scout Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird. . . . But Barrows . . . has created a believable and touching character in Willa.”—USA Today
 
“[A] heartwarming coming-of-age novel [that] sparkles with folksy depictions of a tight-knit family and life in a small town . . . In a novel full of richly drawn, memorable characters, bright, feisty Willa is the standout. . . . Add The Truth According to Us to the stack of repeat-worthy literary pleasures.”—The Seattle Times
 
“A big, juicy family saga with warm humor and tragic twists, Truth is lively and engaging. . . . The story gets more and more absorbing as it moves briskly along.”—St. Louis Post-Dispatch
 
“A pleasant summer read . . . There is much to recommend this book: The characters are engaging, the historical details appear thorough and accurate, and there are sufficient conflicts and plot twists to render a compelling story.”—The Roanoke Times

“Fans of Annie Barrows’s bestseller The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society . . . will recognize the author’s affinity for breathing life into her characters. . . . Barrows has crafted a luminous coming-of-age tale that is sure to captivate her grown-up audience. Against a lively historical setting, the joys and hardships of the rollicking Romeyn family will keep readers eagerly turning pages.”—BookPage

“In The Truth According to Us, Annie Barrows leaves no doubt that she is a storyteller of rare caliber, with wisdom and insight to spare. As she subtly unpacks the emotional intricacies of the Romeyn family and their small West Virginia town in the wake of the Great Depression, we’re struck by the slipperiness of history—how the stories we tell each other and ourselves often demand to be interrogated; how the things we’re driven know about our families, our towns, our closest intimates, will always change us, sometimes over and over. Barrows is at her best here. Every page rings like a bell.”—Paula McLain, author of The Paris Wife

“The Truth According to Us is an irresistible novel, a sly charmer of a story about a small town in Depression-era West Virginia whose history is rewritten by a debutante on the run. Family histories, too, are unraveled, but mended by the fierce, strong women who dominate this delightful page-turner, a tribute to the power of love and forgiveness to heal even the most heartbreaking betrayals.”—Melanie Benjamin, author of The Aviator’s Wife Expand reviews