The Almost Truth

Jan 19, 2013 Leah rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favourites

OMG!! I was kind of in a reading shlump for quite a few years then discovered my love for reading again, I reccomend this book for people who are unsure of the genre they want to read this made me feel happy to be reading again its one of those books you are not able to pout down when I started reading I understood better maybe a few chapters in that I knew what kind of book I love it kept me on the edge of my seat literally wondering what happens next. I loved the ending and the middle where th...more

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Dec 18, 2012 Lynn added it

Won my free copy in Goodreads First Reads. This review is my honest opinion unaffected by having won.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4. This book was an entertaining story. The main character Sadie grew up as one of the poorer people on an island populated by many who are very affluent. Her father is a con artist who spends more time in jail than in Sadie's life and her mom is someone who escapes the harsh world by inventing new versions of events and realties in her mind.

I really liked the character of...more Won my free copy in Goodreads First Reads. This review is my honest opinion unaffected by having won.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4. This book was an entertaining story. The main character Sadie grew up as one of the poorer people on an island populated by many who are very affluent. Her father is a con artist who spends more time in jail than in Sadie's life and her mom is someone who escapes the harsh world by inventing new versions of events and realties in her mind.

I really liked the character of Sadie. She does some petty cons and I was worried going in about being able to like her but this wasn't a problem at all. She recognized that what she does isn't right even though she justifies the things she does do. That is human nature and realistic, especially in light of her parents and her upbringing. We find out pretty quickly that she does have pretty firm limits as to how far she'll go and she does have her principles and ethical limits. That was nice to see and helped make the character likeable. Sadie's desire to leave her life for something better was easy to understand and relate to.

Her parents were very interesting. I felt like I got a pretty good feel for them and were crafted so that by the book's end I got them. Not all parents are what they should be or the people they should be as is the case here. (view spoiler)

I am not sure how I feel about Brendan. I liked him as Sadie's best friend and if things had remained there I think I wouldn't have some of the mixed feelings that I do. I just never got enough of a feel for him to understand him. I liked that he loved Sadie just as she is. I think it is believable that he doesn't want her to go off and leave him and the person she is behind. I don't understand his man whore ways to attract her. Is that supposed to be his immaturity before now? I also didn't feel like he had even close to the same ethical lines as Sadie. I got the feeling that he was actually just a younger version of Sadie's dad and that both bothered me and worried me. Brendan is someone that if I had seen growth away from that I could have gotten behind more. Instead I never felt like he had all that much more potential than her father except for the fact that I hope Sadie calls him on stuff. She does have the potential to push him a little more. It's just that I think with their backgrounds I worry about them as a couple with the little we got from the book.

The romance also wasn't my favorite part due to the fact that I didn't think we had enough time in the book to develop it properly. It had to rely on our knowledge of Brendan's feelings and their past friendship. This kept me from connecting to it properly. Honestly I would have preferred leaving out the whole Chase part of the book in favor of developing Brendan and Sadie as a potential couple and Brendan growing a a character. That is personal preference but it did knock a little off the rating for me.

Read this for the story of Sadie and not so much for the romance and character growth for others and you are more likely to be satisfied.(less)

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Apr 01, 2013 Jennifer rated it 4 of 5 stars

Like many of Eileen Cook's other works, I wasn't expecting the Great American Novel. I wanted something cute, funny, sweet and entertaining. Fortunately, I got everything I wanted.

In a town filled with the Haves, Sadie is one of the few Have Nots. But she has a plan...with a little hard work, a few small cons ($5 here, $10 there), she's getting the heck out of Dodge. She's been accepted at Berkley, and she's finally saved up almost enough to pay for the portion of her expenses that aren't cover...more Like many of Eileen Cook's other works, I wasn't expecting the Great American Novel. I wanted something cute, funny, sweet and entertaining. Fortunately, I got everything I wanted.

In a town filled with the Haves, Sadie is one of the few Have Nots. But she has a plan...with a little hard work, a few small cons ($5 here, $10 there), she's getting the heck out of Dodge. She's been accepted at Berkley, and she's finally saved up almost enough to pay for the portion of her expenses that aren't covered by student loans and financial aid. She's saved up enough, that is, until her mother spends all of Sadie's savings on bills and a lawyer for Sadie's father, who is currently serving time for some cons of his own.

Sadie, who is desperate for a way to make up the thousands of dollars her mom stole, discovers a poster with a missing child's face on it, along with an "aged" example of how the child might look now, 15 years later. The aged representation looks like it could be Sadie's twin. She and her best friend, Brendan, decide they may be able to use this information to con the family (or someone related to the case) out of enough money for Sadie to go to school. The only problem, in this day and age of DNA testing, is how?

This book is less Heist Society-like than I expected. Sadie doesn't con many people, although she mentions her skill at it more than once. The romance didn't blow me off of my feet - the "triangle" wasn't much of a triangle, and I didn't feel any real chemistry between Sadie and either love interest. Additionally, the "plot twist" wasn't much of a twist; it was a bit predictable. But I was OK with that. I wasn't expecting fireworks. It was a quick read, entertaining throughout, and I liked all of the characters involved. Even Sadie's parents, who I disliked greatly at the beginning, had their redeemable moments toward the end. I would recommend this to readers who want a good summer read -- nothing too deep or thought-provoking, but satisfying nonetheless.(less)

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Mar 31, 2013 Diane Wilkes rated it 4 of 5 stars

I read a lot of YA books, even though I am so far from Y I am practically O. However, I am I for Immature, so I rarely have problems enjoying this particular genre.

As I read others' reviews, though, I know I am officially O, because I find the narrator/protagonist Sadie incredibly sympathetic. She has excelled in school and works hard, despite being brought up by a mother who gives up on mothering and a con artist father who is in and out of jail. Her intelligence and industriousness are impress...more

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Dec 19, 2012 Chelsey rated it 3 of 5 stars

This story revolves around our main character, Sadie, and her struggle with finding herself or discovering her identity. I want to say from the start that I did not enjoy this book as much as I have enjoyed others by Eileen Cook, but I still liked the story and the plot. Sadie wants more than anything to get off the island she has grown up on, and to attend Berkley where she can finally make a new name for herself. Her father has been in and out of jail for most of her life and her mother can ba...more This story revolves around our main character, Sadie, and her struggle with finding herself or discovering her identity. I want to say from the start that I did not enjoy this book as much as I have enjoyed others by Eileen Cook, but I still liked the story and the plot. Sadie wants more than anything to get off the island she has grown up on, and to attend Berkley where she can finally make a new name for herself. Her father has been in and out of jail for most of her life and her mother can barely makes ends meet for her and Sadie. Sadie takes after her father and has become quite the little con artist herself. She has pulled small cons for as long as she can remember in order to save up enough money to go off to college and leave this small nothing town behind. Until one day Sadie learns that her mother spends every penny that she has saved in order to help her jailbird father, and Sadie has to start from scratch. This sends Sadie on a journey of self discovery and she learns more than she ever expects.

To be honest I really didn’t like Sadie’s character. I hated that she felt she had to con people out of money just to get ahead in life, and I hated that she let this define her. She related herself to her father a lot, and what got me was that her father was never around much because of all the cons he had pulled. Why relate yourself to someone like this? Sadie was easier to warm up to around the middle of the book when the story took an unexpected turn and the plot turned out to be something that I really was not expected at all. Sadie finds a picture in the hotel lobby where her mother works of the daughter of one of the wealthiest families on the island who went missing almost fifteen years ago. Sadie becomes interested because the picture of what the little girl would look like now surprisingly looked a lot like her. This sent chills up my spine and I was a little more interested in the story from this point on.

I really liked scenes where Brendan and Sadie interacted. Once I saw how Sadie really felt about Brendan I was able to open up to her more. I liked the relationship that they had developed as friends and I liked that there were complicated aspects involved as well. Brendan would do anything for Sadie and that was apparent from day one. He gets involved when Sadie finds this picture of the missing Ava McKenna and immediately sees that it is important to Sadie, so of course he tries to help her find out the information she wants and is there to comfort her when she does. Sadie had built up so many walls around her heart and only had her eyes set on getting the heck out of dodge, when all along Brendan was right in front of her and anyone could see how he felt about her.

Like I mentioned before this was not my favorite work by Eileen Cook, but there were some parts that I still enjoyed and this does not mean that I will ever give up on her as an author. I wish that I could’ve laughed more in this book like I remember doing with her previous works, but if you are a fan of Eileen Cook then I would say give it a shot!

***A copy of this book was provided by the publishers at Simon Pulse in exchange for my honest review***
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Apr 10, 2013 Sumney rated it 4 of 5 stars

One of the better books I've read so far in 2013

I really enjoyed the almost truth. I liked it so much more than I thought I would! There were only a couple small nit-picky things that kept me from giving this book five stars but I'll get to that later. Let's start with the positive!

- Sadie is a realistic teenage character and easily likeable, as is her best friend Brendan.
- Sadie faces all of her problems with admirable strength and she's actually very smart. I can't recall one time when she was...more One of the better books I've read so far in 2013

I really enjoyed the almost truth. I liked it so much more than I thought I would! There were only a couple small nit-picky things that kept me from giving this book five stars but I'll get to that later. Let's start with the positive!

- Sadie is a realistic teenage character and easily likeable, as is her best friend Brendan.
- Sadie faces all of her problems with admirable strength and she's actually very smart. I can't recall one time when she was whining and being annoying or anything like that.
- Sadie is ambitious
-At the beginning of the novel she has big plans to go to Berkeley.

PLOT- minor and vague spoilers MAY be ahead. Prepare yourself!
Sadie's mom has stolen her money for college and now Sadie has to come up with $4,000 (AGAIN) by August. Sadie sees a poster for a missing girl who's about her age and would look a lot like Sadie if she was found. The reward would be very helpful! This is where we're introduced to the mystery. I know, I never would've pegged this book as a mystery! By page 56 not only are we introduced to the mystery, I think I've figured it out. Towards the end the author surprises me with a few twists and turns, causing me to re-assess my theory. My second theory is proved to be right so that was really fun for me because I enjoy being correct but I don't want it to be to easy!
In the almost truth Sadie goes back and forth between a couple guys but the love triangle doens't take away from the more important elements of the novel. Sadie's guy problems take a backset to all of her other problems. When Sadie first meets Chase I think that he's an okay guy but I also think that he could never understand her like Brendan does. Speaking of Brendan... what's up with him?? Not long before the beginning of the book Brendan loses her virginity to Brendan because she's known him forever and she doesn't want to go to college as a virgin. (totally cliched right?) but then she falls in love with him and is only starting to realize the depth of her feelings for them but she tries to avoid all of that because she doens't want to fall for him, she wants to go to college and finally have her perfect life.

The bad:
-Sadie comes from a poor family so this book has a really skewed perception of anyone who has a little money or is able to live comfortably and that was sometimes offensive to me. My grandpa runs a very large business and I think that my grandparents deserve to be where they are today, they got there all by themselves. They're kind, sweet people who appreciate others. My grandpa built his business all by himself, he didn't even take out one government loan. Ever! My grandma used to be poor so she knows what that's like. I'm proud to say that as long as I've known them they've been good, humble people. Don't believe the stereotypes you read in this book!

Anytime we go on the annual extended family vacation or go to stay in a hotel my grandmother tells us MANY times to be careful not to make a mess. She says that "the hotel cleaning staff has enough to do" or that we should try and make it as easy for them to do their job as possible or something like that. Another thing that she does is she tips people A LOT, probably more than she should. =) Moving on now...

-The ending. You know how picky I am about endings... I felt like it was to open-ended. I thought the book ended in a good place but nothing was definte. I still have a lot of questions that I really wish were answered. That's bad!! Maybe it was ended to abruptly. I just don't like it. Not enough information!

I was thinking of reading another book by this author, so does anyone else know of any more good titles by her?
Thanks for reading! =)(less)

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Jan 01, 2013 Catherine rated it 1 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Dec 05, 2012 Becca rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-2012

Originally posted at OMFG!Books

Whenever I see something about cons or con artists, my mind immediately goes to the tv show LOST and Sawyer. LOST was one of the best television shows of all time and Sawyer was one of my favorite characters. I'm always intrigued by stories like these and I was interested to see how a book about a young con-artist and her life would go. Well, I thought it went great.

Sadie's life is anything but perfect. She grew up in a trailer on a resort island full of rich peopl...more Originally posted at OMFG!Books

Whenever I see something about cons or con artists, my mind immediately goes to the tv show LOST and Sawyer. LOST was one of the best television shows of all time and Sawyer was one of my favorite characters. I'm always intrigued by stories like these and I was interested to see how a book about a young con-artist and her life would go. Well, I thought it went great.

Sadie's life is anything but perfect. She grew up in a trailer on a resort island full of rich people. Her dad was in prison more often than not. Sadie has had it hard but she has made the best of it. She dreams of getting out, of going to college. She was accepted at Berkley in California which see sees as a brand new start, a whole new life. She had saved up enough money by doing what she calls small-cons, cons that hurt virtually no one and that also have a low likelihood of her getting caught.

Sadie is left with nothing after her mother drains her bank account. She has no college money, no out. She needs to figure out a way to make a lot of money fast or she will lose her spot at Berkley. She has an idea for a con that could get her a lot of money quick and she enlists her best friend to help her but the only problem is the con could cause a lot of collateral damage. There are a lot of emotional ties to it for everyone involved and it has the potential to end badly.

I loved Sadie. She was burdened by circumstances. All she wanted was a way out, to be someone and make something of her life. She is a big dreamer. She doesn't want to be stuck and realize twenty years down the line that she hates who she is and where she is. While these cons that she does, even the little ones, can be dubbed bad or sketchy or wrong, she does it with a moral code. She has a reason, a drive, in her and she will do that and do her best not to hurt anyone in the process. I admired her through all of the book, during the con and all the other things she was going through because while she at times felt lost she still knew her end goal.

While there were many aspects of the book that you could see coming from a mile away I still enjoyed the ride. Some plot points were obvious but that didn't take the enjoyment away. There were also twists to those obvious points that I enjoyed. It was like the author said "I know you know how this is going to go but you don't really know *flirty wink*"

This book had everything I want in a YA contemporary novel: romance that wasn't the driving force of the plot, an interesting plot with well rounded characters and a wonderful ending with twists and turns along the way. You won't be disappointed if you pick this up.
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Dec 05, 2012 Meaghan rated it 5 of 5 stars

Review first published on my blog Feeling a Little Bookish (http://bookworm-meags222.blogspot.com)

Wow, what can I say about this book? It was fantastic! I have been in the worst reading slump I have even been in since I can remember. It started in August and continued until this month and this is one of those books that reaffirmed that I indeed do LOVE to read. This book is about Sadie whose mother steals her college money from her. Sadie then has to think of a new scheme to try and get money t...more

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Jan 30, 2013 Michael Burhans rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult

This is my third Eileen Cook book. As much as I enjoyed the first two (The Education of Hailey Kendrickand Getting Revenge on Lauren Wood)this is easily my favorite. This story twists and turns and you think you have it figured out, then you change your mind, then you change your mind again. A powerful and heart felt book that will make you question a lot of things that on the surface seem easy. I can't say much about it without giving away important things. Go read it.

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Dec 04, 2012 Kelly Hager rated it 5 of 5 stars

Sadie's a con artist. I know that makes her seem like a bad person, but she really isn't. She runs small cons, partly because that makes it less likely that she'll get caught but also because that means no one loses more than they can afford to. And it's for a good cause: getting her away from her hometown and into a good college.

And then her mom steals all her money, leaving Sadie completely broke and with just a few months to earn it all back. She has a great idea for a big con, the biggest sh...more Sadie's a con artist. I know that makes her seem like a bad person, but she really isn't. She runs small cons, partly because that makes it less likely that she'll get caught but also because that means no one loses more than they can afford to. And it's for a good cause: getting her away from her hometown and into a good college.

And then her mom steals all her money, leaving Sadie completely broke and with just a few months to earn it all back. She has a great idea for a big con, the biggest she's ever done...but it's complicated. Someone could get hurt (emotionally) and it could also affect this new guy, the one she's just met and is already starting to fall for.

You may remember that earlier this year I completely binged on Eileen Cook's novels and then had to wait what felt like forever to get a new one. This one was totally worth the wait! I was excited when I read the synopsis because it sounded like Heartbreakers, which I really liked (and yes, I know most people either didn't see it or hated it, but I don't care). And I am oddly fond of stories about con artists and heists and capers. I blame The Thomas Crown Affair and Ocean's 11.

I love Sadie. I know that a lot of what she does is pretty shady but she's not trying to finance a trip to Europe and for someone who basically steals for a living, she's very moral about it. There are definite lines that she won't cross. And I realize that it's me rationalizing what she does because I love her and I rationalize like crazy for people I love. Apparently even when they're fictional.

Anyway, I thought going in that I knew exactly how this story would go...and I was taken completely off guard.

Well, that's not entirely true. I knew that I would enjoy this story, and I did. I knew that it would be smart and fun and sweet and that I'd probably smile and sigh a little. And all those things happened. :) But plot-wise, I expected one thing and got something completely different. I am a pretty big fan of being unprepared when it comes to books.

What I am not a fan of is having to wait, and I have no idea when the next Eileen Cook novel is coming out. I hope it's not next December; I may die.

Highly recommended.

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Mar 22, 2013 Fran rated it 3 of 5 stars

Sadie has been planning to escape from her parents and their unstable, impoverished lifestyle since 4th grade! At 18, she has $4000 in her bank account and is just weeks away from attending Berkeley. Though she has worked hard as a hotel waitress, she has also supplemented her college fund from her side job as a small time con artist Her dad has been in and out of jail most of her life for similar schemes.

Sadie is dismayed to discover that her mother has emptied Sadie’s savings account for roof...more

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Dec 01, 2012 Nafiza rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: books-for-review, 2012, contemporary

The Almost Truth is my first Eileen Cook novel and I waltzed into it armed with nothing but the heady feeling of reading a book by a local author. Ever since I started my Masters program, I have been meeting a lot of local authors who write for children and young adults and for the first time ever, I feel a certain fascination with these brilliant people who dig deep into themselves and produce such startling results. Even though I may not personally love all the books I read, I still respect th...more The Almost Truth is my first Eileen Cook novel and I waltzed into it armed with nothing but the heady feeling of reading a book by a local author. Ever since I started my Masters program, I have been meeting a lot of local authors who write for children and young adults and for the first time ever, I feel a certain fascination with these brilliant people who dig deep into themselves and produce such startling results. Even though I may not personally love all the books I read, I still respect that they write. Anyway, on to the review proper.

The Almost Truth presents a plot that has almost certainly been seen in previous young adult novels. The protagonist is a con artist doing small time cons to supplement her wages so that she can escape the poverty that has ruled her life. When her mother “borrows” the money she had been saving, taking away her chance to escape, Sadie decides to run the biggest con of her life. She sees a poster for a missing child whom she happens to resemble and decides that hey, easy money. I remember reading a book by Lisa McMann that dealt with the same premise with various differences, of course.

What I liked about this book is the angle the author takes to present the premise. The angle is skewed, instead of conning the parents, the main characters decide to be different. I won’t tell you how – for that you have to read but just know that it’s different and it’s interesting. I really liked Sadie as a character. She has a tough life and she has some very obvious flaws but she doesn’t dither and she doesn’t give in to pathos. There is angst but I found it refreshingly juxtaposed with some good sense. The book explores themes of identity and social status. It questions the value of money and the bonds between people whether related by blood or otherwise. The book is quite short so the pacing is very brisk and this works until the very end which I will talk about later.

The romance is interesting but I don’t think the love triangle was particularly necessary in this instance. Cook could have devoted the same time to developing Sadie’s increasing awareness of the wrongness in her life especially since that love triangle somehow fizzled away without adding much to the primary narrative. It also introduced an inconsistency to the character that was at odds with the way he was presented. Also, I liked Brendan a lot and I think more time could have been spent developing the relationship between him and Sadie.

I did not agree with how things pan out in the end and this is probably just me. I am not very forgiving and I thought that the whole issue wrapped up a bit too neatly for my tastes. I wanted some blood, to be honest. I also wanted to know what happens after the book ends – Sadie is such a strong character that I wanted to accompany her on this new journey she was setting out on and I was slightly miffed that I wouldn’t be able to (noooo!!).

However, after everything is said and done, The Almost Truth is extremely readable. It is short and packs quite a punch. It is entertaining but also has depth in the questions it asks its readers. So while I do have some minor quibbles with it, I recommend it.(less)

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Dec 11, 2012 Crystal rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2013-read-list

(view spoiler)...more

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Jan 20, 2013 Tera rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2013-a-z-challenge, couples-on-cover

Sadie is poor class in a upper class island. She is working small cons and real jobs to save up to get off the island to start over and get a fresh start. Dear old mom - takes all of Sadie's cash to help the "family" and now Sadie has to figure out a Plan B fast.

I felt for Sadie she was trying to better herself and not hurt anyone much either. You could tell who the guy for her was - even if she couldn't see if for herself for awhile... ;) I figured out what was going to happen pretty early on....more

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Jan 16, 2013 Aimee rated it 3 of 5 stars

The Almost Truth was one of those books I picked up on a whim, so intrigued by the title that I wanted to read it, even though I had absolutely no idea what it was about. The cover seemed generic (romantic, I guess), I knew it was a contemporary young adult novel, and I had heard such amazing things about some of Eileen Cook’s other works that I checked it out from my library immediately. Unfortunately, I have conflicting thoughts about this book, which both failed to engage me and entertained m...more

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Nov 28, 2012 Krystal rated it 4 of 5 stars

First off, the cover is a little bit deceiving. The 2 teens in an embrace would scream love story, then read the back and see that its about con artistry and your mind just races with other ideas. Though there is a bit of romance play out in The Almost Truth, it is no where near as much as one would think based on the cover alone.
Sadie has had it rough, she lives in a trailer with a hotel maid for a mother, and a father who can't stay out of jail. All Sadie wants is to get away, go to school an...more First off, the cover is a little bit deceiving. The 2 teens in an embrace would scream love story, then read the back and see that its about con artistry and your mind just races with other ideas. Though there is a bit of romance play out in The Almost Truth, it is no where near as much as one would think based on the cover alone.
Sadie has had it rough, she lives in a trailer with a hotel maid for a mother, and a father who can't stay out of jail. All Sadie wants is to get away, go to school and become someone else. A better version of herself. Her best friend Brendan wants more after the one night they spent together, though Sadie has no interest because she's counting down the days until she is out of here. The relationship between Sadie and Brendan is fun, they've been friends forever and you really see how Sadie will miss him, and Brendan downplays how much he'll miss Sadie. He's willing to do whatever to help Sadie though, even if it means losing her.
The con they are doing starts to take turns neither of them were expecting. Chase, the guy Sadie is hoping to get information from starts to play a bigger role to Sadie than just someone she's using, and secrets are revealed that no one is expecting.
While reading, I thought I had the whole story figured out. It was predictable (or so I thought!), I had it all figured out in my head but then plots take on new twists and turns and where I once thought I knew what was going to happen, I didn't anymore. Eileen Cook definitely has a way to get the reader sucked in and all of a sudden I was hooked and couldn't put the book down. And BAM, we are hit with the ultimate twist at the end of the book. I think I sat there with my mouth gaping because I was so shocked.
Fans of Eileen Cook will be pleased with this book, I'm assuming. This is my first book from this author but I really enjoyed it. The characters, the emotion, the twists and turns were great and I'd be interested in reading more from Cook. This is definitely a book you should ask to get for Christmas! (3.5)(less)

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May 06, 2013 Chelsea N rated it 5 of 5 stars

SUCH A GOOD BOOK!

I have never read a book by Eileen Cook before, so this is my first. I am very impressed and will read more by her.

The whole story kept me guessing. I couldn't decide what was going to happen. This book keeps you on your toes, which I love. Secrets are uncovered, Sadie's parents have a strong love and everything about this book is incredible.

Eileen thought of a great idea and executed it well. Her characters were all real and you could feel what Sadie was feeling.

I highly recomm...more

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Dec 23, 2012 Angela (: rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012-december, contemporary, books-library-owns, books-that-made-me-cry, to-review

Actual rating: 3.5 stars

Review to come.

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Feb 17, 2013 Crème De La Crème Reviews rated it 3 of 5 stars

3.5 STARS

Contradictingly to Cook's adult writing style, I find her YA writing style fasinating. In this novel's case, highly frustrating as well.

I won't pull a hindsight bias on y'all, but I mean..

As I mentioned above, this book has caught my attention. If only I actively read, I'd pull some seriously amazing quotes. The novel was full of small life lessons and just sayings that I connected with and related to. The romance was okay. It didn't sweep me off my feet, it was not well developed, but...more

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Mar 29, 2013 Joanne rated it 5 of 5 stars

You’d think you’d dislike a character who shows herself to be, from the first page of the book, a con artist, but in the case of Sadie, it’s impossible not to like her. She
comes by her skills quite honestly: she’s the daughter of a swindler who spends more time in jail than out of it. But Sadie’s a con artist with a dream and a (somewhat of a) conscience and she’s about to go straight. Until she finds out her college money has been stolen (by her mother!) and everything she’s worked for is gone....more

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Mar 28, 2013 Sara rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2013, young-adult

Sadie is an 18-year-old con artist, saving up little by little to help pay for her college tuition so she can finally be off the small Washington island where she lives and away from her in-and-out of prison dad and trailer-living mom. When she sees a flyer about an upcoming event to help bring awareness to a missing child case that happened on the island 15 years earlier, she's startled to see her own resemblance to the time-elapsed photo of the missing girl. She thinks maybe this could be the...more Sadie is an 18-year-old con artist, saving up little by little to help pay for her college tuition so she can finally be off the small Washington island where she lives and away from her in-and-out of prison dad and trailer-living mom. When she sees a flyer about an upcoming event to help bring awareness to a missing child case that happened on the island 15 years earlier, she's startled to see her own resemblance to the time-elapsed photo of the missing girl. She thinks maybe this could be the ultimate con, pretending to be the missing girl to collect a reward, but soon she starts to wonder if she actually is the missing girl.

This was an extremely quick and very light read. Sadie is not the most likable main character, especially at first, because she's scamming people for her own benefit. No matter how little she takes, it still isn't likable behavior, although it did set the stage for her personality and motivation throughout the story. It also helped set up the relationship between Sadie and her best friend, Brendan, who was interested in various cons as well, although mostly for the sheer entertainment aspect of it. Their friendship was quite strong, and even though I didn't love them or want them to be my own friends, they were interesting main characters.

The main plot of the book kept me hooked. Sadie wasn't much of a detective, but this also wasn't a mystery; instead, it's about a few weeks over the summer before college, when she's trying to figure out who she wants to be and who she is. The author did a nice job of showing the similarities between Sadie and the missing girl, leading the reader to understand how she could think (and why she would want to think!) she could be the missing girl.

I wish parts of the book had been a little more developed, but once again, that wasn't what the book was going for. It was simply a light read, and it filled that niche well. I guess my only complaint is that the ending seemed to happen slightly before the story should have ended; it felt like slightly more was needed, or at least an epilogue to know what happened after the end. I think I've had this complaint with some of the author's other books as well. It didn't ruin the book, but it just left a little more hanging than I would have liked. But who knows, perhaps there will be a sequel.(less)

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Feb 07, 2013 Sabrina rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites, reviewed, ya

Ok, so this is my first book by this author...and WOW! I was crunched and smashed into a million piece by this book. I can proudly say that this book is the second book that has made my eyes go a tad watery (and that is rare for me, the first book was The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks.) I was so amazed how amazingly good this book was!

Lets start with the con. When reading the blirb description in GoodRead I had a tiny small con like "fall in love with boy who I can steal money from." But no. I w...more

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Feb 20, 2013 Amanda rated it 4 of 5 stars

The Almost Truth was such an awesome book!! It is definitely one of my favorites from Eileen Cook. I absolutely love the cover!! Since reading the summary I was intrigued with the plot about a young con-artist and how she wants to improve her life and go to the college of her dreams. Eileen Cook is a great writer who can grab your attention with a good plot and lovable characters.

Sadie is anything but perfect in her life, growing up on a trailer park resort island. Growing up her father has bee...more

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Dec 10, 2012 Zemira Warner rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: teen

The Almost Truth was the first Eileen Cook book I’ve read so I didn’t know what to expect. Cover and synopsis are deceiving. I thought it will be something like Stealing Heaven by Elizabeth Scott and Heist Society by Ally Carter but the whole storyline was revolving around Sadie’s identity and finally accepting herself.

Sadie’s lived with her mum in a trailer park hoping that she will escape her miserable life when she goes to college in the fall but after her mum spent the money she was saving f...more

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Jan 19, 2013 Midnight Bloom rated it 5 of 5 stars

Haven't we all fantasized at some point that we could lead a different life and be another person? After her mother completely clears out her bank account, Sadie forms an ambitious plan to earn back her college money in a short period of time which involves the disappearance of a rich girl named Ava McKenna who went missing 15 years ago. However, the more Sadie learns about the missing girl and their similarities, the more she begins to believe in her own con and spun lies...

I really liked Sadi...more

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Dec 07, 2012 Shannon rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012, would-watch-if-it-was-a-movie

Not as funny as her other books, but I still really enjoyed this. The plot kept you guessing the whole time. I was pretty sure I knew what was going to happen, but it ended differently than I thought it would. Right when I believed it was over, a final twist popped up. I honestly wasn’t expecting things to end so sadly. I mean, I wasn’t bawling my eyes out or nothing, but I was a bit bummed to learn the truth behind this whole crazy debacle. (view spoiler)...more

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Apr 11, 2012 Fred marked it as to-read

Recommended to Fred by: Lena ♫ ♪

This sounds like such a great premise - it reminds me a little bit of a tv movie I saw a long time ago that I really liked, called Caroline?, starring Stephanie Zimbalist (of Remington Steele fame). It also reminds me of The Face on the Milk Carton, which I never actually read, but somehow I know the story? I also love cover photos where the girl is crossing her fingers behind her back while kissing the guy. It seems like there have been a few lately, and it always portends drama and plot-a-lici...more

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Feb 06, 2013 Juhina rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: simon-and-schuster, review-books, own, my-arcs

The Almost Truth is not a full on romantic contemporary, contrary to what the cover may imply, it is the story of a con girl who is about to go through the biggest con of all time. Sadie, the main protagonist, is finally getting away from the island, away from her trailer home, her prisoned father, and her careless mother. She got accepted at Berkley and managed to get the initial payment.. through small scale cons. Nevertheless, she's going to get the fresh start she always wanted... until she...more The Almost Truth is not a full on romantic contemporary, contrary to what the cover may imply, it is the story of a con girl who is about to go through the biggest con of all time. Sadie, the main protagonist, is finally getting away from the island, away from her trailer home, her prisoned father, and her careless mother. She got accepted at Berkley and managed to get the initial payment.. through small scale cons. Nevertheless, she's going to get the fresh start she always wanted... until she finds out her mother used her saved up money and now she needs four thousand dollars fast. She stumbles upon a missing person flyer and what's creepy is that she looks exactly like the enhanced age picture of the missing girl (I know what you all think.. be patient). The absurdity of her being the heiress to the McKenney family is acknowledged, but her and Brenden, the hot guy in this book, scheme a way to get money from this situation.

This is when the mystery and investigations start. At first I rolled my eyes at the obviousness of this plot.. DUH, Sadie is Ava, the missing girl! However Eileen Cook has twists and turns everywhere and I started doubting my initial conclusion. I tend to not read much contemporaries lately because they all end the same way, and sometimes the progression of the plot is even the same, but Cook knew how to keep me guessing and dying to know what happens next. The ending was very satisfying and it ended in a way that gave room for a future sequel, something that I would be happy for. So Cook didn't give us the complete happy ending, but the potential for one, so for all people who are sick of HEA, you'll like the open ending of this book.

I really liked Sadie; she didn't get worked up on her maybe being the heiress, she just wanted the truth. She was also confrontational, a quality that is missing in many female protagonists or book characters in general. This leads to almost no misunderstandings, which are my number one pet peeves. We've also got Chase, who is a family friend of the McKenney's and very handsome, and Brenden, the play/bad-boy who secretly holds a torch for Sadie. Both of these characters shined in their own way but I always love the bad boys (yes I know! I never learn). Also, in the beginning I cringed at the relationship between Sadie and her mother but I was glad I witnessed the construction and mending of that relationship; the same goes for her father. I would definitely recommend this book to fans of contemporaries and also light mysteries.(less)

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Jan 09, 2013 Princess Bookie rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: read2013

My Thoughts: I was blown away by this one. I read a few reviews saying it didn't have much romance and wasn't all they thought it would be.

But myself, I still loved it quite a bit. We are introduced to Sadie who has always lived with her mother and father. Her mother is kind of a loner and her father is always in and out of jail. He is good at cons, or maybe not so good since he sure does get caught a lot. Sadie has picked up a bit from him but she only uses it to steal money for college and nev...more

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