Nothing But the Truth

BOOK NAME: Nothing But the Truth
AUTHOR: Avi

I had to read this book for school. Even though I had to read it for an assignment, I found myself thoroughly enjoying it. Sometimes reading for homework isn’t that bad, because you can end up reading some amazing books.

We already know that telling a lie is never good, but in this story we see that a lie can quickly escalate as more and more lies are added on to cover for the first one. Philip Malloy is in 9th grade and he dislikes his English teacher, Miss Narwin. Because of this, he purposely tries to do things to get on her nerves. As part of the daily morning activates at his high school, the national anthem is played. One day, Philip started humming along while it was being played. Despite warnings, he did this two more times during that same week, and ultimately was kicked out of the classroom and suspended from school.

Philip claims that this was an act of patriotism, but he’s really not a very big patriot in the first place. But many people jump on his bandwagon which leads to a series of events that result in some unfortunate consequences for almost everyone involved. It would seem that no one wins this battle.

Nothing But the Truth is a very intriguing book in that you’ll find yourself asking what is a lie and what is the truth? Sometimes it falls somewhere in between. I like the documentary style of this book’s writing because I found it easy to follow. It was also a great way to lay out the different viewpoints of the characters.

I would recommend this book for middle schoolers as I think they would find the subject matter the most interesting. This story will really make you stop and think and realize that there is always more than one side to a story, and that there can be some dire consequences to telling a lie.

Comments

jindo2108
June 10, 2011, 4:58 pm

This sounds awesome!:)
I’m defiantly gonna check it out at the library.
I’ve read some books by Avi before and they were good, and this one sounds good as well:).
Awesome review Shelia…thanks!
-jindo
PurpleDragonWarrior
June 11, 2011, 8:33 am

Avi?

Isn’t he the one who wrote “What Do Fish Have To Do With Anything?”

Loved that book

Hi Jindo, long time no see

Sorry about not posting, I’ve been busy

Glad to see Ya’ll,

PDW
Anonymous
June 12, 2011, 10:56 am

ugh!!!! my english class read it this year and we didn’t like it at all. I think the ending was bad and the theme of the story wasn’t interesting. The only part I liked was the format. The format is almost like a play and that made it slightly enjoyable to read, but I wouldn’t recommend it.

~Zoe I:)
starburst271
June 12, 2011, 9:33 pm

Sounds ok
Saphira
June 13, 2011, 7:23 am

thnks alot sheila!! the book seems awesome…
jindo2108
June 14, 2011, 1:07 pm

Ha ha….long time no see to you too, PDW.
Finished this…it was ok. More confusing than I thought though, cause he didn’t really sing the anthem to be patriotic, but more to cause a disterbance. I dunno…wasn’t my favorite, but it was good.:)
-jindo
ballerinagirl
June 20, 2011, 9:24 am

This book doesnt look bad just mediocre thats all not bad not the best if i have nothing else to read or i cant find anything b ut this i will read it. The message in the story is real though . yah lies can mount up fast then it feels like your sinking in quiksand up to your neck LIKE THERES NO HOPE, but yah peeps thats why its best not to lie, haha, ballerina girl
Alex Rider
September 10, 2011, 4:38 pm

I liked this book alot. It really made me think about the importance of telling the truth.
Wolfheart
October 31, 2011, 10:33 am

I read this book last year in 8th grade. It was okay, but not the best. It has a lot of irony, though.