The Truth Beneath the Lies by Amanda Searcy / Review by Hazel Reed
The Truth Beneath the Lies
By Amanda Searcy
Delacorte Press
$17.99
ISBN 978-1524700898
Publication Date: December 12, 2017
The Book of the Day
Debut author, Amanda Searcy, has truly written something special with The Truth Beneath the Lies. From the very beginning, I was completely hooked. I read the book from cover to cover in one sleepless night. A decision I do not regret. The ending is completely satisfying.
The story follows the lives of two teenage girls, Kayla and Betsy. Each girl telling her story in alternating chapters. Kayla has a rough life. She lives with her mother (an addict currently in recovery) in governmental housing. Living just a few doors down from them is her mother's former boyfriend and drug dealer. It is not a healthy situation for anyone. If she can just keep it together for a little while longer she will graduate from high school and finally be able to get away - far away.
Betsy is a bit more of an unknown. Although she has more of a stable family life (maybe), she certainly has her own set of problems. Searcy portions out Betsy's story in small bits and pieces - and it is not always easy to identify the truth from the lies (and half-truths). I personally found this to be very intriguing - like putting together the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle where the pieces can fit in more that one place.
The challenge in writing a YA Mystery/Thriller is finding the balance between too juvenile and too adult. Searcy certainly accomplished this feat. The tension builds page by page and even when I had an inkling of how this was going turn out - I still couldn't get through the pages fast enough. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and my own teenage daughter love it as well. That is truly a first and a testament to Searcy's skill as an author. I look forward to more from her in the future.