Truthers

by Geoffrey Girard

Katie Wallace has never given much thought to 9/11. She was only a year old when terrorists struck American soil. But now her dad has landed in a mental institution after claiming to know what really happened. He insists the attacks were part of a government conspiracy. And he claims that Katie is living proof: the lone survivor of a massive cover-up.

Hoping to free her dad, Katie sets out to investigate his bizarre claims. Soon she's drawn into the strange and secretive world of 9/11 conspiracy theorists known as the "Truthers".

Wading through a dangerous web of fact and fiction, questions and distortion, Katie no longer knows what to believe. But she does know that she's being followed -- and that someone is determined to stop her search for the truth.

A novel for teens, exploring 9/11 & our conspiracy culture...

Genres: Young Adult, Thriller, Mystery, Mystery Thriller, Fiction, Contemporary, Teen

360 pages, Hardcover

First published August 1, 2017

About the author

Geoffrey Girard writes thrillers, historicals, and dark speculative fiction. Simon and Schuster published two Girard novels simultaneously in 2013: CAIN'S BLOOD, a techno thriller, and PROJECT CAIN, a companion novel for teen/YA readers which was nominated for a Bram Stoker award for "Superior Achievement in a Young Adult Novel."

Girard's short fiction has appeared in several best-selling anthologies and magazines, including Writers of the Future (a 2003 winner), Prime Codex, Aoife's Kiss, The Willows, Murky Depths, Apex Horror & Science Fiction Digest, and the Stoker-nominated Dark Faith anthology.

Born in Germany and shaped in New Jersey, Geoffrey currently lives in Ohio and is the English Department Chair at a private boys' high school. He has a BA in English literature from Washington College and an MA in creative writing from Miami University.

Reviews

[PinkAmy loves books, cats and naps · Rating 1 out of 5]

If I could give this book negative stars, it would be a negative 5, but ask me how I really feel.

WARNING: rant ahead

Initially, I liked TRUTHERS, which I thought was a story about a girl dealing with her paranoid schizophrenic father's delusions about 9/11. About 10% into the book Geoffrey Girard used one of my least favorite phrases "radical Islamic terrorist". I believe that phrase is toxic, because it equates the infinitesimally small number of people who use religion as an excuse for terror with that religion. We only do this with Muslims, not with radical christian terrorists like the guy who shot up the church and murdered 8 black worshippers in bible study. The media and certain politicians call black criminals thugs, Muslims terrorists and whites "mentally ill", I don't need to read the same rhetoric in YA fiction.

Rather than making TRUTHERS a story about mental illness, Girard gives credence to conspiracy theorists with much of the story and the ending. In fact, much of TRUTHERS is Katie's quest to uncover the different theories. Granted, being raised by a paranoid father, I would understand why she was suspicious and doubted what she was told. It was her frame of reference. Since most YA readers are young people, many who weren't born or were too young to remember how the events unfolded, giving credence to such nonsense is irresponsible. One of the characters opined that if one percent of information was untrue, all the information was untrue (lies) since the truth wasn't 100%.

I remember every moment of 9/11 unfolding before our disbelieving eyes and ears. Thinking not just of the lives lost and their loved ones, those injured physically and emotionally, first responders ill from helping out, but of the devastation to the psyche of nearly everyone in the world, I think TRUTHERS did not need to be told in the way it was so soon afterwards. I'm not against retelling history fictionally, but the replacement tower isn't even completed. Too soon.

I'm so angry I spend money on this book, not because it was horrible (it was), but because I don't want a penny of royalties from the book going into Girard's pocket or that of the publisher.

BTW, I also didn't care for the writing, the switching of POV's from Katie's to a mystery person didn't work for me.

TRUTHERS did a good job of portraying foster care and social workers in a positive light. That was the only positive aspect for me.

[Tammy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The nitty-gritty: A fun, fast-paced thriller about the conspiracy theories behind 9/11, this contemporary YA will give teens (and adults!) plenty to think about.

I don’t usually read YA thrillers, but when Geoffrey Girard asks you to read his book, you do! I have to admit I don’t know much about conspiracy theories—although my sixteen year old daughter tells me about plenty (I think it might be a teenager thing…)—but it sure was a blast reading about them, especially since Girard’s latest focuses on the conspiracy theories behind the events of 9/11. Truthers is definitely slanted toward the YA crowd—there’s some burgeoning romance and plenty of teen slang—but I can honestly say that it had some unexpected layers, and I ended up learning a lot. Add in some pulse-pounding action and you have a great mix.

Katie Wallace’s father has just been committed to Ventworth Hospital, after attacking a coworker. Coupled with his PTSD from his time in the military and his rantings about conspiracy theories, Scott Wallace is being heavily sedated and the administrators won’t let Katie see him. When she finally gets a few minutes to talk to him, though, he barely makes any sense, repeating over and over the cryptic words “They killed all of them.” Katie is taken into foster care, since she’s underage, but even this drastic life change won’t deter her from trying to help her father and discover the mystery behind his puzzling words.

A man from Veterans Affairs named Paul Cobb begins questioning Katie, trying to find out if her father has told her anything, and through these conversations Katie starts to realize that her father once worked for a company that may have had something to do with a 9/11 cover up. As she pieces together the confusing ramblings of her father and the suspicious actions of Paul Cobb, Katie begins to wonder if her dad might be telling the truth. Were hundreds of people who knew too much killed in order to hide the truth of what really happened that fateful day? How was her father involved? And even more unsettling, how does Katie herself fit into the picture? Her father mentioned something about a woman handing a baby to him in order to save her, and Katie suspects she might have been that child.

Before she knows it, Katie is knee-deep in conspiracy theories and trying to find a lawyer who will agree to help her father get out of Ventworth. Along with a young law student named Max, her best friend Gianna and even her new foster siblings, Katie doggedly looks for answers, stepping out of her comfort zone in order to discover the truth. But someone is watching her every move, someone who doesn’t want to leave any loose ends.

I personally have never paid much attention to conspiracy theories, and although I’ve heard the odd thing here or there about 9/11, I was never interested enough to read up on them. But it turns out there is a whole group of people who think that enough proof exists to present alternate stories of what might have actually happened, and I found it interesting that the title is based on a real group of people called “truthers” who literally spend their lives searching for the truth. Whether you believe it or not, it’s fascinating to read about, and Girard keeps a level head as he’s telling his story by presenting both sides and giving them equal page time. If you’re hoping for concrete answers by the end of the book, well I’m afraid you’ll be disappointed. Nothing is really resolved, although the characters do learn plenty. The author also drops tantalizing hints about other conspiracies throughout our country’s history that seriously made me want to do some Googling to learn more!

I loved Katie as a character, she’s curious, loyal to her father, and determined to get to the bottom of what really happened during 9/11. She also dives headlong into dangerous situations, which made her character a bit less believable, but it certainly made for a fun story. While Katie is open-minded and prone to believe conspiracy theories in general, her friend Max is the opposite. He has a hard time believing that the U.S. government could ever lie to its people, especially when it comes to 9/11. Max jumps in and agrees to help Katie with her research, but he’s there mostly for moral support. He’s not buying the proclamations spouted by conspiracy nuts, and I liked that he balanced Katie out with his levelheaded attitude.

The other thing I really enjoyed was the fact that Katie has to stay with a foster family while her father is in Ventworth. I honestly can’t remember ever reading a story that dealt with foster care, and while it certainly isn’t the focus of this story, it felt very real and honest. While Katie isn’t thrilled with the rules and curfews her foster parents set for her, it worked much better than if she had just been able to stay at home by herself. Plus she becomes good friends with one of her foster sisters!

A couple of things didn’t work as well for me, but overall I consider them minor. As Katie is delving into the 9/11 conspiracies and trying to get her father released, we find out that someone seems to be watching her every move. Katie’s story is broken up by short scenes of “mystery” men talking about “stopping” Katie from finding out the truth, following her, and even using surveillance equipment to spy on her and Max. Although these scenes did add some suspense to the story, I found them a bit over-the-top for my taste. There is also something that happens to Katie’s cat that did not sit well with me. That whole scenario, although it did turn out better that I expected, just didn’t feel like it belonged in this story.

But despite those issues, Girard certainly knows how to pace his story. There’s plenty of excitement throughout, especially the last few chapters when everything comes to a head. Several things are resolved, but the bigger questions aren’t, leaving lots of room for readers to draw their own conclusions. I loved the way Girard was able to add serious themes like PTSD, mental illness, foster care and even drug use to a fast-paced story that never felt bogged down by those things. Truthers is both entertaining and educational, which for me is a winning combination.

Big thanks to the publisher for supplying a review copy.

My interview with Geoffrey will be up tomorrow, don't miss it! This review originally appeared on Books, Bones & Buffy

[D · Rating 5 out of 5]

My interest was piqued with TRUTHERS, however, when I started reading I was very afraid of where the book was going to go. I have huge problems with people capitalizing on 9/11 in the form of entertainment, like fictionalized books or movies. Same goes for other big tragedies, like the BP rig explosion and that movie with Mark Wahlberg. Gross. No. You’re making money on the backs of dead people with survivors still alive to tell you exactly what happened. No.

So I was afraid because 9/11 is very close to me. I don’t like to call myself a survivor because I wasn’t downtown when it happened. I was in my dorm at 55th between 2nd and 3rd, having been dropped off eight days prior for my freshman year of college. I don’t feel like I actually survived anything being that far uptown, yet it’s such a monumental moment in my life that I’m still to this day grossly affected by it. I didn’t witness the planes crashing into the buildings or see the towers collapsing, but I can tell you how yellow the air was the next day when the wind shifted and what thousands of burning bodies and cement and steel and asbestos and office equipment smells like. How long it stuck to our hair and our clothes, how news anchors advised people to stay indoors. I can tell you it took between 7 and 8 hours to get a hold of my parents that day because cell services were jammed, pay phones were for emergency only, and no one had long distance on their dorm phones. So my parents had no idea whether I was alive or dead. I can tell you what a silent New York City feels like, what hordes of people walking across the Queensboro looked like because the island was locked down. What’s it like to walk in streets that were previously flat but were now rippled and bulging because of the underground force created by the falling towers. I can tell you what it’s like to have a fundraiser variety show for one of our friends whose dad, who didn’t work in the towers but were nearby, ran in to help people and never came out. They buried an empty coffin that November and in March his body was finally extracted from the wreckage, intact.

I know our government’s down some really shitty things, but I can’t accept that they would allow something like this to happen let alone actually orchestrated it. So I had a hard time going into this book, and I had a hard time writing what I did above, and I was afraid of what Girard was going to do. My 18-year-old self was very directly affected by 9/11 and my 34-year-old-self now is very protective of that piece of me. But I gave it a chance.

And once things started working out and cracks started to form, I stopped reading the book as if I were anticipating a hit. I waited until the very end to see how he would tie everything together just so I didn’t jump the gun and was like WHEW. TRUTHERS ended in a very satisfying place. Not one where I anticipated it ending, but a respectful place.

The basic premise is Katie’s dad has been not well for a long time and at his last breakdown before being hospitalized he drops a bomb: that we was involved in a secret conspiracy to orchestrate 9/11 and Katie is really the daughter of a woman off of Flight 93 who handed her over to him to save before the woman was carted off and murdered by the government. This is at the front of the book, and it’s a very insulting conspiracy which was why I was so apprehensive going into it. I was really hoping the book would ultimately be a comment on mental illness, which is kind of ends up being. It just takes a while for that point to develop.

So here’s the thing: conspiracies are not mathematically viable. Effectively the more people who know a secret the less amount of time that secret is going to stay a secret. That article effectively proves that based on prior real conspiracies that did come to light. The thing about covert operations is that very few people know about them. Exceedingly few. That’s to mitigate leaks. There is stuff that’s buried very deeply within the government that not even Julian Assange can get his hands on. The shit the government really doesn’t want people to know, they hide it well. Everything else . . . well, the government at large is terrible at keeping secrets, if you couldn’t already tell.

One of Katie’s contacts, a guy with the handle Benevolus522, states that people who know too much and who are deemed a threat by the government get eliminated. That’s not untrue. However the government actually needs to think you’re a threat with the information you know. Ben here’s been working on his truther crap for more than a decade and he considers himself hunkered down under hacker protection from the government and in hiding. 1) Hubris to think his tech skills are better than the government’s when it comes to spycraft. Ha. 2) By that same logic if he was actually on to anything he’d already be dead. Since he’s not, by that logic, he knows jack shit. But, you know. Truthers aren’t logical so that concept flies right out the window.

Max is a leveling factor throughout the story, poking holes in Katie’s logic the entire time and he really grounds it all out. He waters down every truther concept, picks it up and turns it around so it can be seen from the other side of the coin. He’s really the voice of reason as Katie devolves into this whole mess.

As for Katie herself, she gets points for the research she does and the time spent. The crux of this whole thing, as outlined by one of the cases she found, it to prove that the truther conspiracies are believable by people of sound judgment and mind, not just by “crazies.” And this is brought up very early on in the story so if you hang on to this notion, keep it in the back of your mind, it’ll help you carry through everything, from the cut-aways to the “men in black” talking about spying on her to the questionable scare tactic moments that arise. She’s also a vaguely inconsistent character, but that’s just one mention that really stood out: considering 9/11 ancient history, however, she quotes the movie Se7en, which is even older than that event. Literally before her time. But whatever. Small hiccup, ultimately.

There are a lot of hidden pieces in TRUTHERS that if I start talking about them they’ll just be outright spoilers. So I’ll just end it with this: it’s a book that ultimately keeps its distance. 9/11 is THE BIG THING in the book, but that’s not how it ends. Girard is respectful and ends up making various comments about the mentality around conspiracies, PTSD, mental illness, and persistence toward truth. It started off rough and ended quite well. I would recommend giving it a chance.

He puts a note at the end, before the bibliography, just commenting on the sites and books he referenced when researching the book and how it’s not an endorsement, just a research list. InfoWars is on there and it made me twitch. Ugh. Talk about conspiratorial drivel. I’m sorry he had to go there, but I think it shows the lengths to which he went in order to understand the mentality of that side of thinking and even that isn’t presented in a mocking way in the book, but just as another way of thinking without being disrespectful to those directly affected by 9/11.

So if you’re looking at the blurb and you’re skeptical in a way that I was, give TRUTHERS a chance. You might be surprised.

4.5

I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Ms. Just One More Book (Kris Miller) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Katie Wallace has long since been prepared for her dad's mental instability to come crashing down around her. What she was not prepared for was the truth within his words. As her father is taken to a mental institution he seemingly babbles "They killed them all". His insistence that the tragic 9/11 attack was not that of terrorists - but of conspiracy - leads Katie to the Truthers, and ultimately towards the road to the truth itself. Girard creates a mesmerizing and provocative read that intensifies as the pages turn. Fast- paced, TRUTHERS is an exciting thriller that will leave you speculating long after the final page.

[Jennifer McGowan · Rating 5 out of 5]

TRUTHERS by Geoffrey Girard is the kind of book that stays with you long after you've read it. It's a fast-paced thriller featuring a young heroine faced with an impossible claim--that she's somehow tied to the tragic events of 9/11--and the even more impossible task of trying to determine what actually happened that fateful day. Katie's efforts to discover the truth behind all the smoke screens, false information, misdirection and genuine confusion surrounding 9/11 made for a terrific read, but I also found myself considering the reasons why conspiracy theories get started, and how quickly they can spin out of control. A compelling read for fans of thrillers, politics, current events, and recent history.

[Cheryl · Rating 1 out of 5]

The concept for this book is what drew me to it. I was curious about what theory Katie's father had about the true events of 9/11. After reading to the half way mark it was evident that this book was written more for the younger juvenile audience. Not that there is anything wrong with this. This just means for the older audience, like me, this book may not be appreciated. The theories being thrown around were unbelievable. Also, the intensity levels seemed to be muted for the younger crowd. Had these factors been improved on for all reading audiences, this might have been a pretty good book.

[Niki]

DNF

I really tried to get through this novel, but it just is not for me.

I think it may work better for teens born after the events of 9/11, but for me, although I think conspiracy theories are really interesting, I did not enjoy reading about real and tragic events possibly being something else.

Like I said, it may be for someone else or maybe if I had continued on it would have gotten better but for now I'm not giving it a rating.

[Jason Sizemore · Rating 5 out of 5]

*copy received from Girard's publicist in exchange for an honest review*

First, a small bit about my head space going into Truthers by Geoffrey Girard. I was to dissect it and rip it apart. I have little patience or tolerance for the so-called truther movement.

Geoff's previous efforts such as Project Cain convinced me to give this one a chance. I'm glad I did. This is outstanding YA fiction. You can sense the author's background as a teacher through the expressed realism of his female high school protagonist. She has all the hallmarks of a great YA protag: smart, doesn't take crap, has initiative, and has a complicated love interest.

The core mystery of the book is fulfilling. There are several conspiracy theory data dumps, but without them the reader would be in the dark as to all the plot machinations that are occurring. Plus, who doesn't like learning about conspiracy theories?

This book feels like a step forward in Girard's writing. Project Cain was great. This might be even better.

--Jason

[Aimee · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received a copy of Truthers from Walker Books Australia. I don't even know where to start with this review. I'm months behind with my reviews and this is the first one I chose to catch up with. So please bear with me as I muddle through this and try to remember what I thought about this book when I read it last year.

Anyway, Truthers didn't make a very good impression on me. I did manage to finish the book but the plot seemed so crazy I can't even remember why I wanted to read it. I don't want to go into all the ways the author talked about Muslims (like they're all terroists and extremists.) A lot of the people who read this book probably don't remember 9/11 and this will not help them understand what happened. it feeds into the conspiricy thoeries and then the way Muslims are talked about. I really just wanted to put it down but I felt I had to finish it as it was a review book.

I am so glad that I didn't pay for a copy of this book. And not just because of what I said above but the writing just wasn't for me either. I'm pretty sure this is meant to be a YA novel but it reads more like a book for younger readers. Not sure I'd want kids reading this though, with all the conspiriacy thoeries and the use of the phrase "radical Islamic terrorist."

I know it's been months since I read this but I can't find myself wanting to recommend this to anyone. Or wanting to read another book by this author. This book has really put me off any other books by Girard.

[Carrie (The Butterfly Reader) · Rating 3 out of 5]

So, I've said before that for some reason I love conspiracy theories. Do I believe any of them? No. I don't but they are interesting to look up. So when I saw this one on NetGalley, I had to get it. I learned nothing new from it but someone who knows nothing about the the conspiracy that 9/11 was an inside job will learn lots. This actually leads me to the first problem I have: info dumping. It got pretty boring in some parts of this book for that reason. I get it, she would go look up all these things and it made sense for the info dumping but it didn't make it any less boring.

Also the drugs... I'm not a fan of drugs and her father was big into weed. I pushed past that because I'd never seen a YA book like this one before and it does make sense why he did it but I still don't like that. Overall, this is a good book for anyone who likes 9/11 conspiracy theories.

[Lauren Manning · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for a review. I really liked the idea of this book, and I wanted it to be a good one. Conspiracy theories fascinate me, so I was excited to dig in! Truthers intrigued me at first, but the further I got into the book, the more lost I became. The plot became hard to follow and in the end, really fell apart.

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

There be spoilers and swearing ahead!

3.5 stars.

Truthers tells the story of Katie, who lives with her pothead, drunk-off-his-ass dad. Until, one day, she doesn't anymore. She comes home to see that the nice young men in their clean white coats have come and taken her dad away (does anyone get that song reference or am I just that old?). Katie goes into foster care and stays with a fabulous family. No, I'm serious about that. However, when she finally gets to see her dad, her dad starts talking about knowing the Truth about 9/11 and how Katie is the key to figuring everything out. Katie ultimately decides to trust her father, and the journey she goes on is more twisted than you could ever imagine.

To be honest, I quite enjoyed Truthers. Katie, our protagonist, is a likable character. She learns and grows. The author does a great job of making her sarcastic without turning her into a total bitch. The supporting characters in the text are, for the most part, also well fleshed out and believable. (Minus the one friend that keeps appearing and disappearing. Katie keeps mentioning having two best friends, however, we only spend time with one of them. Go figure.)

The author does a great job of delving into the conspiracies that surround 9/11; the book is well-researched and the author even includes a bibliography for those who want to learn more. For the generation that this book is written for - those who were born after 9/11 occurred - will find this book interesting.

I only have two real complaints about the book, and I'm hoping that one is because I read an ARC, is that the formatting is a bit wonky at time. The narration point of view switches occasionally, and there was no line breaks or any way to tell when the narration had jumped. Therefore, it often took me a minute or two to realize that jump had occurred.

My second complaint is the resolution. I don't want to give too much away as it will lead to a huge spoiler for the book, but let's just say it wasn't very clear and left me feeling a bit confused.

Overall, if you're into mysteries and conspiracy theories, chances are you'll enjoy this book. It's definitely a quick, easy read so it's worth a second glance.

[Eustacia Tan · Rating 3 out of 5]

"The vastness of the internet allows people - no matter what their views - to crawl into the world's smallest teapot of those exact same views. Visiting only the websites and people that agree completely with your take, everyone spouting the same stuff."

I really don't know what to make of this book. I picked it up because the premise was interesting, but halfway through it felt like it was pro-conspiracy theorist. Then the second half had logic and it felt like the conspiracy-part was going to be proven wrong but the ending was sort of conspiracy theory-ish, although the conspiracy was not about 911 but about a massacre being covered up.

Let me start from the beginning. Katie's father is taken away after he made threats about Dick Cheney. When she goes to visit him in a mental hospital, he reveals the 'truth' that she is actually the lone survivor of 9/11, and that 9/11 was perpetuated by the American government so it could go to war. In order to prove that her father is sane (because apparently if she can prove that sane people can be truthers it means her father is sane), Katie starts to investigate his claims. And probably because it would make the book very short to just investigate and dismiss the claims, the reader is immediately informed that there is, in fact, a shadowy group of people following her, which lends credence to her father's claims.

I suppose that the good thing about the book is that it really goes into the conspiracy theorist culture. Katie falls for it (despite what she says by the time that the book hits the halfway mark, it's clear that she either believes it or she's very close to believing in it) and it shows that the internet age hasn't reduced information. If anything, it's spread it.

That said, it felt like the book was pro-conspiracy theorist/truther for most of the book. In fact, I deeply considered stopping the book because it didn't feel unbiased (I know that the author tried to be objective but at that point I just wasn't feeling it). If Max (the guy that helps Katie out - obviously you know where this is going) didn't start speaking up and countering all her 'facts' with logic, I probably would have just stopped reading.

Max, by the way, is my favourite character. He and Katie are the only two that felt real to me (I know she has friends but they didn't make much of an impression) and his level-headedness was what saved the book for me. It's a pity that his relationship with Katie was extremely predictable, although on the bright side, it wasn't insta-love.

On a completely random note, Max also speaks one line of really awkward Chinese. Luckily, they never claimed that he was fluent but just seeing it made me pause for a second.

As for the ending, I found it a little confusing. I think I've gotten it, but I was really confused at first. Which, come to think of it, probably mirrors what Katie felt. All in all, this is a confusing book to rate. I obviously liked it enough that I finished it (and I find that I'm giving up on books more easily nowadays - perhaps I'm finally becoming more ruthless/protective of my reading time?) but it did give me a lot of sighing and 'why on earth are you buying into that' moments while I was reading it.

Disclaimer: I got a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a free and honest review.

This review was first posted at Inside the mind of a Bibliophile

[Sandy Reilly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Katie never believed in her dad -- he let her down too many times to count. His bad combination of drugs and alcohol left Katie picking up his responsibilities all throughout her childhood, forcing her to learn that the only person she could depend on is herself. When the police bring Child Services to her front door, Katie isn't shocked, knowing it was only a matter of time. What she didn't expect was to hear her dad has been admitted to a mental institution due to a violent encounter with coworkers and claims of 9/11 conspiracies involving former vice president Dick Cheney. Katie remembers her dad spouting "truther" conspiracies sporadically, mostly when he was either drunk or high. But when her dad shares a dark secret with her, she finds herself thrust into a world of lies, half-truths, and corruption. Now Katie must figure out if her dad could be telling the truth -- which would shake up her world completely -- or if he really is in the place where he belongs.

Thoughts: Girard's novel had me riveted and horrified all at the same time. Like many reading this review, I remember 9/11 very clearly -- I can tell you where I was when each plane crashed, how I felt when each tower crumbled before the world's very eyes, and how my friends, family, and students were directly affected by what happened that terrible day. To read this fictional character, Katie, explore all-to-real "truther" points-of-view, I was so upset by how plausible it all seemed. I have never given credence to the "truther" movement before and I cannot say this book has convinced me to believe in any way, nor was that the author's intent, however I can see how easily it would be to get caught up in it all, just like Katie was. I would recommend this to any high school teacher who is looking to get their students more involved in questioning the world around them, even if it means questioning their own government.

[Forever Librarian · Rating 3 out of 5]

So...one of my voracious 7th graders read this book and absolutely RAVED about it. She told me I had to buy it for the library - got it via my review group for free instead! Definitely mixed reviews on goodreads!

Katie Wallace is launched into the realm of September 11th conspiracy theories when her father is arrested and held in a mental hospital after he attacks his coworkers, all the while shouting about Dick Cheney and a 9/11 conspiracy. When Katie visits him and tries to find out if this is just more of her dad's crazy drug-fueled behavior, he divulges that she is not really his daughter. He has actually been protecting her for years in secret after her mother was killed under suspicious circumstances when her plane was rerouted to Cleveland on September 11, 2001. Katie doesn't know what to believe, but loyalty propels her to try to figure out what happened and save her dad. With the help of a brilliant hacker, Max Thompson, a lawyer, and some mysterious connections her dad has made over the years, Katie takes on the FBI, CIA and possibly other unknown dangerous entities to see if she can unravel this mystery, save her dad and figure out the truth. But when there are seemingly endless versions of the truth and conflicting evidence, who or what can Katie trust?

The book definitely indulges 9/11 conspiracy theories and offers rebuttals. Katie is a fairly critical protagonist, and supporting characters offer possibilities, evidence and viewpoints from extreme government skeptics as well as unwavering patriots. The book does not completely validate or perpetuate 9/11 conspiracies exactly and Katie's quest leads her to some other possible explanations of her father's breakdown. Although the plot gets a little bogged down in sifting through some of the evidence and theories, I think there is enough mystery, twists & turns, romance and secrets from the past to engage readers. Recommended for those who like exploring conspiracies, mysteries, and father-daughter relationships. Grades 7 and up.

[Lacy · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’d happened more than fifteen years ago, when she was maybe two, and she had no personal memory of that day, or of the weeks or months that followed. So, yeah, it was tragic and all that, but from a completely selfish, and honest, point of view, 9/11 was ancient history. It had about as much effect on her as Kennedy getting shot or the Titanic sinking. None. Unless . . . Unless her dad’s “freaky and sporadic interest” was more than that. Much more.

Truthers is a YA thriller about the conspiracies that surround 9/11. I've owned the book for a little less than a year but I decided to wait for September to actually read it. For obvious reasons.

As someone who loves conspiracies and theories, Truthers was an interesting read. It had a great build up and kept me wanting to read just one more chapter but then the ending kind of fell flat. Nothing really got resolved. But I guess that's fitting for a story about conspiracy theories because most of the time they don't have any real resolution. I still think it's a decent book.

Heads up, it's a hard book to find information on and after reading, the irony isn't lost on me. 👀

“So, what do you do after the buildings fall or the doors slam and there’s nothing but silence left? Maybe that ‘after’ is what counts. Your actions, your feelings. Maybe that’s the only real truth we ever get. And maybe that’s enough.”

[Alicia · Rating 1 out of 5]

For those that are reviewing the book negatively simply because it's a fictional story about the conspiracy theories around 9/11, I dismiss that because a library should have a book to offend everyone and in Girard's afterward he also discusses why he chose to write about the topic and that it's not to offend, but to lend a voice when those that were not born a voice in understanding the idea of conspiracy theories. We cannot outright dismiss it, we need to bring it to light.

But I had issues with the book on a completely different level and that was the writing itself. I don't believe a teen would have the patience to get through a mystery like this. I think it's an adult book that might have YA appeal, but it's certainly not YA other than the fact that the female protagonist is a teen. The research element and her ability to start taking control and understand her father's view are the redeeming quality but I could not slog through it to get to the real meat of the story.

[Read InAGarden · Rating 4 out of 5]

As the story opens Katie's father is taken to a mental hospital - this isn't all that surprising to Katie, her father's always been a little unhinged. What is surprising to Katie is that her father has seemed a little more unhinged than usual lately. He's been talking about 9/11, about how it was a cover-up by the government and how he was involved in that cover-up. Then he tells Katie that she is a survivor from one of the planes that crashed on 9/11. As shocking as all of this is to Katie, she is more worried about getting her father out of the psychiatric hospital. Part of that process means learning more about 9/11 and the claims her father is making. But the deeper Katie gets the more people she finds that don't seem to want her to dig any deeper.

This is a fun read. Part mystery/detective story, part historical fiction, part realistic fiction - and it works well.

[Rachel Marie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Truthers Book Review Two stars is being kind. Truthers has a good premise and I like the idea of the plot, a girl born after 9/11 is thrown into conspiracy theories and trying to figure out what happened. But I honestly can't see any high schooler or young adult actually enjoying this. The plot is weak, its a lot of facts about 9/11 thrown at you. I barely finished and got really bored.
 
I honestly skimmed a lot of it but feel like I didn't miss much. I'm not really into the whole conspiracy thing with 9/11 but even so this could have been done a lot better than it was. 

[HillbillyWizard · Rating 4 out of 5]

A colleague suggested Among the Truthers but this was all I could find which turned out to be pretty good fiction though I'd call it historical fiction myself. I don't like labels and believe the pejorative term truther and conspiracy theorist are used to marginalize those of us not gullible enough to believe the fairy tale told by the US governement. This includes an Orwellian array of lies like the black box and all other evidence at the Twin Towers (which were quickly whisked to China for recycling with strong reproach from the FBI) were incinerated. However there was this perfect, pristine, paper, passport found amongst the rubble identifying a Saudi terrorist so we invaded Afghanistan, formed the Department of Homeland Security and started a practice of pre-emptive strike. Funny Adolf did the exact same thing when he burned the Reichstag, blamed it on Communist terrorists, formed the Division of Fatherland Security and invaded Poland. So set aside the fairy tale verson of 9/11 for a moment if you please. We can all agree now that Colin Powell's Global Tour using precision speeches about yellah cake was completely false and led us into a war that was fully uneccesary. I am now convinced W. and Trump got together to write the 9/11 Commission Report just to see how gullible the populace is. So gullible it seems that Trump went ahead and held a summit yesterday blaming mass shootings not on the reality of the US military waffle stomping women and children's brains in since the 16th century, but on video games. It's funny you never hear the Killer Clintons admit that Wild Bill's mass shooting of cruise missiles killed Layla Al-Attar in Baghdad. How about Obama's Drone Strikes Bro? Anyone get a total on the collateral damage there? Or that W.'s useless wars kill more children in schools annually than have been killed in every mass
shooting in American schools combined since Austin, 1964. I just think maybe, reality might have more of an effect on folks that aren't blinded by the lies this government spreads then fictitious augmented reality. One last thought, if Black Lives Matter and we can't trust these fools not to shoot our brothers in the back for resisting arrest, then why in the world would we be willing to give these same fools all the guns? I propose an immediate ban on all assault weapons for the US Military and only a few defensive installations at home. If not that then I propose background checks on all politicians with a drug screen before they deploy any weapons with what Roger Waters calls the "Bravery of Being out of Range." Then I believe politicians should be treated like citizens even if they only murder brown fabricated enemies with fabricated evidence I think Clinton and W. should go on trial for murder stat. Like I always say if you shoot up a school you're demented and evil, if you destroy a country you're a hero and if you slow-kill the planet's body and soul making addictive augmented reality rectangles in China with loose pollution and child labor laws then you're a God. So if we must place the blame on people nuttin up like Michael Douglas in Falling Down (which by the way I understood much more as an adult) then sports fans we must look in the mirror. We personally fund murderers with campaign contributions and taxes. I have yet to pay for any mass shooter's weapons. Once agian I'll draw on Roger Waters who is way more eloquent than I, "We watched the tragedy unfold, we did as we were told, we bought and sold."

[Sydney Kenning · Rating 2 out of 5]

In Geoffrey Girard's Truthers, high school junior Katie is whisked away in the middle of the night to foster care because her deadbeat father had a mental breakdown. He was screaming about 9/11 and a cover-up that perhaps involves Katie and the mother that she has never known. As Katie is challenged to keep her father out of institution for the rest of his life, she dives deep into a web of conspiracy regarding the United State's worst terrorist attack. With the help of her best friend Gianna and a boy genius law student she recently met, Max, Katie gets closer and closer to the truth, possibly meaning that the US government is the bad guy who knowingly murdered its citizens.

The premise of this novel is fun: a conspiracy thriller for the YA set. Reading about the other possible conspiracies and attacks that have led to other historical wars was also intriguing and page-turning. However, the energy of the first half fizzles out as Katie and the reader gets closer to the truth. Rather than beeline into self-discovery, crushes, and the prom, I think if the novel stuck more to the Dan Brown structure of Robert Langdon novels, it would have kept its steam up. Similarly, the novel doesn't have a strongman adversary until the end. Imagine if the masked figure was clearly and continually switched back to throughout the novel the way Dan Brown switches back to the albino assassin in The Da Vinci Code? Although it deals with terrorism, massacres, and possible agents out to murder Katie, the ending is almost too PG for the content that prefaced it. It seems the stakes were lowered to make this "teen appropriate." Just like a Dan Brown novel, once the mystery is solved there is a little disappointment.

As an educational tool, I think a student could get into the historical references of past conspiracies. But they might just like an entertaining nonfiction book that discusses the Lusitania, Vietnam, the JFK assassination, and 9/11 instead. I don't think having a teen protagonist guide through these topics makes them more interesting. However, I think Max's speech about how society has turned to conspiracy to explain chaos is probably its most important piece--perhaps the author's mission statement. I wouldn't mind in the age of accused crisis actors and politicians working to de-legitimize the voices of politically active teens discussing how conspiracy has led to a culture of denial in the face of unspeakable tragedy.

Overall, I think the book is lacking.

[Kristin · Rating 4 out of 5]

My Review:  4.5/5
I wasn’t sure what to expect when I started to read this book.  All I knew going in was it was about the travesty of 9/11 and a possible cover-up.  This book took me by surprise…a great surprise!
I am going to start of by saying I am a proud American.  I’m a born and raised citizen, who has the utmost confidence in the country and those who run it.  I proudly wave the American Flag and the 4th of July is one of my favorite holidays.
This book is about Katie, who tries to untangle the babble from her dad who has just been confined to a mental institution.  He mutters ‘they killed them all’.  She soon learns he is referring to 9/11 and starts her own investigation of the real truth that occurred on that day.  Her research leads her to one conspiracy theory to the next.  Was the government behind it?  Were certain Americans aware the tragedy was going to happen?
I have to admit, I never looked into or have even ever heard of any conspiracies around 9/11.  Call me naive, but I believe it is the evil work of terrorists.  This book left me speechless and questioning.  It is very thought-provoking.  The author did an excellent job bringing light to a taboo subject in the telling of a fiction story.  I applaud him for challenging my way of thinking.  Great book, and one I recommend…especially if you want to be challenged.
***Thank you to the author and publisher for my advanced copy in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

[whatbooknext · Rating 4 out of 5]

Katie Wallace’s dad isn’t much of a dad these days. As she has grown she has watched him get high, drunk and unconscious. When official looking people arrive on her doorstep she’s not surprised.

But it’s not what she expected. Her dad has been hospitalised for random threats against the vice president and he’s telling lies about the government. She is swept quickly into foster care.

When she finally gets to see her dad he is heavily drugged in a guarded hospital room. But he fights through his haze to tell her something. Something she never expected and cannot ignore. This is where her fight to free her father begins.

This novel has received some negative feedback because of its main topic – 9/11 conspiracy theories. The people who believe these theories and/or others call themselves Truthers. I for one, much enjoyed the story and the way it was written. Although in third person I was reading other character’s point of view without knowing who they were yet. Very intriguing! The author specifically states he means no disrespect to anyone with this novel and I appreciated that. I liked the characters who drew me in and had me wondering who telling the truth. Great read.

[Chelsea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Boy did this book take me a long time to finish. In the middle of reading this book, I left for a holiday to America and was unable to take it with me. I feel this led to me slowly losing interest in this book and losing the drive to finish it. This had a compelling plot as it is based around the conspiracy theories surrounding 9/11. As an Australian citizen, I can’t begin to comprehend how tragic this event was to American people, but nonetheless I am aware of some of the details surrounding the tragedy. I love conspiracy theories (maybe too much honestly) because it always forces me to think outside of the norm. I can see how people could take offense to this book, but at the end of the day it is a work of fiction and the author does a great job clarifying his intentions behind the story at the back of the book. I really liked the mystery around this book, and that plot twist though holy heck

[DJ Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Something very important about this book is that it never forces you to make a decision about the reason/circumstances of 9/11. It presents a multitude of ideas and thoughts and lets the reader decide what to do with it. Our female protagonist is full of mixed emotions and I found that to be far more believable than a character who would have taken a single stand on any of the multiple issues she is dealing with. Good and bad in in this novel is not so black and white.




Minor spoiler (but also not really): I really enjoyed that at the end we did not get a nice neat little "this is what actually happened" package given to us. It ended with loose ends and questions but not in an unsatisfying way. It was in a more realistic way of how real life can happen. We do not always get the nice neat bow on a final package. I found it to be genuinely satisfying.

[Alyse Liebovich · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received a signed ARC when I met the author a few years ago at ALA.
The cover obviously caught my eye, and I divulged to him that I lived in NYC on 9/11 and am always drawn to books about the topic. A few "anniversaries" have passed, which is always when I intended to read it. This year I finally did.

I'm not sure--after doing talks about 9/11 to 150 kids who weren't even born yet and seeing their reactions--how many teens I could get interested in this story; however, it did get me thinking about how easily people can be swayed by conspiracy theories. I mean I went so far as to think, "Maybe this book isn't getting the best reviews because it IS telling the truth, and government employees are posing as Goodreads reviewers!"

I'm mostly kidding. All in all not the go-to "9/11 book" I would recommend for a general audience. More so for students intrigued by conspiracy theories.

[Dana · Rating 4 out of 5]

When Katie's drug addict father is put into a mental institute after ranting about 9/11 conspiracies, threatening Vice President Dick Cheney and beating up a co-worker, Katie begins to research the 9/11 conspiracies in order to help get her father out of the mental institute. She is aided by a 17 year old boy genius who she meets at the law library where she is doing research. The more she learns about the Truthers, the conspiracy theorists, the more plausible some of their theories sound. Katie, however, is in danger and is not sure who are the good guys and who are the bad guys. I found it interesting that the book ties the belief in conspiracy theories in with PTSD. The story is captivating and intriguing.

[CR · Rating 2 out of 5]

My Review: This one was set after 9/11 even though it been a pretty long time I still remember where I was when this all went down. I was in choir getting ready to go to English and that is when everything went quiet in school. This book deals with Katie and her father that is a paranoid schizophrenic and his belief that she is proof that 9/11 was a government coverup. I have to say that I wished this would have not been about a real event. With everything that happened during and after 9/11, this was just not the book for me and I had to put it down around 100 pages. It was just too much. Even after all this time.


Go Into This One Knowing: Paranoid Schizophrenia, 9/11, Conspiracy Theorists

[Cj · Rating 3 out of 5]

I know that some books are character vs plot driven but this one comes off as having a strong plot only for you to see at the end that the story in the story will never be resolved and that it really is just a character story. That was disappointing--to get to the end of the book and know nothing. There is one strongish character but for the most part the others just fill up space.

It's an okay YA book showing some a character with resilience, how her opens change and grow. Mostly, the author wrote the book as a teaching mechanism--a way to teach critical thinking and open mindedness to the teen population. Not a bad goal, but doesn't really make for a great book.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Conspiracy theories abound in this thriller, but in the end, the focus does shift. This book will appeal to YA readers for its plethora of theories, and I'm hoping readers will dig more deeply into the ones portrayed here to discover where the truth lies. It was a little uncomfortable at times, as it felt as though the reader was being led down a dark path into some unpatriotic places.

I couldn't help but like Katie for her strong will, grit, and incredible intelligence. She would make an interesting character study.