5-Star Review of "The Truth According to Us"

Review of The Truth According to Us

by Annie Barrows

Evoking the same small town charm with the same great eye for character, the co-author of Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Society finds her own voice in this debut novel about a young debutante working for the Federal Writer's Project whose arrival in Macedonia, West Virginia changes the course of history for a prominent family who has been sitting on a secret for decades. The Romeyn family is a fixture in the town, their identity tied to its knotty history. Layla enters their lives and lights a match to the family veneer and a truth comes to light that will change each of their lives forever.

MY REVIEW:   What a fascinating story!    A family buried in secrets living in the 1930's amidst the small town life of Macedonia, West Virginia.   The Romeyn family is filled with "real characters" with character flaws, faults, loves, hopes and dreams and secrets.   Secrets that are buried this family alive until Layla arrives to live in their home while she works for the WPA.  Layla has a secret too.....she is not a poor young woman in desperate need of the relief work....she is a Senator's daughter who has been exiled by her father when she refuses to marry a rich young man whom she does not love.   

       This book focuses on a different space in the United States' history.   A time when towns were "dry" and were not to sell or drink liquor but people found a way around this as they obviously weren't willing to give up that freedom.   This causes many problems in itself for this family and town.    This book keeps the surprises flowing and flows with energy.

      I rate this book 5 stars and highly recommend it to readers.   

      I receieved a free ebook of this title from netgalley in exchange for my honest review.  

About the Author: 

Annie grew up in Northern California, and graduated from the University of California at Berkeley, with a degree in Medieval History. Unable to find a job in the middle ages, she decided upon a career as an editor, eventually landing at Chronicle Books in San Francisco, where she was in charge of "all the books that nobody in their right mind would publish." After earning an M.F.A. in Creative Writing at Mills College, Annie wrote (asAnn Fiery) a number of books for grown-ups about such diverse subjects as fortune-telling (she can read palms!), urban legends (there are no alligators in the sewer!), and opera (she knows what they're singing about!). In 2003, Annie grew weary of grown-ups, and began to write for kids, which she found to be way more fun.