All the Truth That's in Me

I devoured this book. I can't even place my finger on why it gripped me so much, but it did. I could barely drag myself away to fulfill responsibilities, like cooking and eating supper. The main character is so smart and broken and brave, and her prospects so bleak, that I couldn't imagine a happy ending for her, but desperately wanted it nonetheless. And then there's the mystery: what happened to Judith's friend Lottie? Why would someone kidnap Judith for two years, then cut out half her tongue?

All the way through, I felt vaguely uneasy, expecting to be let down by the ending. Without spoiling anything, I'll just say that I definitely wasn't. The story was rapidly-paced, the world was well-built, and the ending was a satisfying conclusion that drew all the pieces together.

The unusual writing style (the book is written in choppy pieces, to Judith's longtime love, referring to him in second person) might not work for everyone, but it did for me.

Highly recommended.

I'm giving this book five stars because I can't give it six.

Want to read a good book? A book that you can't put down? This is THAT book. I started it one night, barely slept, and finished it the next. Yes, all 274 pages are that good.

I'm not sure who decided to categorize it as young adult, but because it has some very adult subject matter. The heroine is young (14) when the book starts but it covers a number of years, putting her near 20 when it ends. Almost all the other characters are older, including her love interest, four years her senior.

Judith, we eventually learn, was kidnapped, and not can't speak. Literally. It's a physical impossibility because most of her tongue was cut out. We eventually learn why, but the storyteller's strength in this book is her ability to give you just enough information to keep you reading another page and another chapter.

This vaguely historical fiction is set in an undefined time period where women were barely considered people and religion ruled people's lives. (It makes today sound scarier than it already is.)

The author handily leapt back in forth in time without giving the reader whiplash. There's a lyrical, almost poet phrasing used as well as mini-sections that almost act like diary entries. One of my favorite things about this story was that it never sounded trite or unbelievable.

READ IT, even if you never read young adult fiction.

The author did a great job with making me as a reader invested in Judith. First you get brief bursts of knowledge about her in this wonderful and lyrical second person narrative. These beginning short burts are so beautifully written. It starts out like Judith cut off from her neighbors and her family because she is made mute by a man and her mother's orders because she has didsdain for the girl she came back as with half her tongue cut out. The short bursts become longer and longer as Judith realizes that there is more to herself than just these small glimpses.

I'd recommend this to those who like historical fiction, don't mind second person narrative and a book that has wonderful lyrical moments.