None of This Is True

[SarahKat, Buddy Reads]

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This thread is to discuss None of This Is True by Lisa Jewell.

Pages: 370 pages

Length: 1 month (October)

Participants: Mansi V, Beth, Dominique, Patricia, Denise, TerryJane

Everyone reads at their own pace during a Buddy Read. Because participants can be at different parts of the book at different times, it is extremely important to mark spoilers so that the book is not ruined for someone who is not as far along as others!!!

Mark spoilers by placing {spoiler} before the text and {/spoiler} after the text but use the < and > instead of the { and }.

[Denise]

I actually finished this last night for a book club discussion happening Tuesday. Waiting to see what you all think.

[Sara]

Hi, I just picked this up yesterday and I would like to join this group as well!

[Patricia]

Hi! I'll be reading this book next week after I finish reading my first book.

[Mansi V]

Hoping to read this soon, I've been quite disappointed with really hyped thrillers in the past, but have very high hopes for this one!

[Dominique]

Will start this weekend

[Temitayomiyoshiseun]

Just pick this book up Will be starting this weekend.

[Dominique]

I finished. I enjoyed it.

(view spoiler)[ It was a bit slow at times but it was a good book. I liked the format of some parts being the Podcast.
I think it was evident that Josie was not the kind of person she was and Alix just got sucked into it and her husband paid the price. Even though he went out all the time and was drunk a lot, until the end he never cheated and loved her very much.

The ending was great.. So who's telling the truth, Josie, her kids, her mom. it pretty much left us to decide what the real truth was (hide spoiler)]

[Denise]

Dominique wrote: "I finished. I enjoyed it.

It was a bit slow at times but it was a good book. I liked the format of some parts being the Podcast.
I think it was evident that Josie was not the kind of person she ..."

Honestly, I still think (view spoiler)[ Josie did most of the lying (hide spoiler)]

[Rosalyn]

This was a first rate mystery thriller, at one point, listening to the audiobook - which is the best way to read this one btw, it's a full cast w/ sound effects, the whole nine yards - I caught myself thinking it was real, like I was really listening to a true crime podcast. Many times I didn't know which...

full review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Mansi V]

Rosalyn wrote: "

This was a first rate mystery thriller, at one point, listening to the audiobook - which is the best way to read this one btw, it's a full cast w/ sound effects, the whole nine yards - I caught m..."

Ah I'm only 20 pages in so far and I have a physical copy I borrowed from the library but I was thinking this might be good as an audiobook!! I might give the audiobook a go too

[Dominique]

Rosalyn wrote: "

This was a first rate mystery thriller, at one point, listening to the audiobook - which is the best way to read this one btw, it's a full cast w/ sound effects, the whole nine yards - I caught m..."

You're totally right, did the audio and it was great to get a full cast for it.

[Mansi V]

I just finished and I really ended up liking the audiobook over the physical since I found it a lot more immersive.

I wouldn't say I was necessarily blown away by the plot or 'twists' but I did still really enjoy this book. I liked the whole layout and premise and just the overall eerieness of it all.

(view spoiler)[ I am intrigued to see what you think of the ending. I still think Josie did most of the lying too rather than the girls but I also had a theory that maybe Alix was making up some stuff to dramatise the podcast?

Also a criticism I have is how Walter still still being an actual padeophile is kind of glossed over and Josie is blamed even if she's crazy (hide spoiler)]


My full review is here
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Mansi V]

@Denise I see you rated it 2 stars so interested to hear your thoughts. Honestly with how disappointed with thrillers I've been recently, I was scared this was going to be a 2 star read for me too

[Denise]

Mansi V wrote: "@Denise I see you rated it 2 stars so interested to hear your thoughts. Honestly with how disappointed with thrillers I've been recently, I was scared this was going to be a 2 star read for me too"

My rating has to be taken with a little grain of salt because this is not my preferred genre. I read it because one of my book clubs chose it.

(view spoiler)[ I thought the writing was decent. One of the biggest put offs for me was I didn't like the characters. I wanted to slap Alix....like, your gut is telling you there is something wrong with this woman but you let her live in your house with your CHILDREN!! And for selfish reasons...she wanted the podcast and risked her family's safety for it. How did that work out for Nathan? I also figured out a lot of the ending/twist fairly early, like who was driving the car in the prologue. Josie and Walter were definitely unlikeable even though he wasn't as bad as Josie painted him (accepting Josies advances and ditching his family is still questionable though). I am pretty sure that Josie is telling most of the lies. (hide spoiler)]

[TerryJane, Challenges]

I finished last night and will go 4 stars for it. I listened to the audio, and while done very well, the background noise for some of the podcast interviews was terribly distracting. I understand it's supposed to represent reality, but it doesn't work well with my own reality.

(view spoiler)[I had a bit of a break in the flow of the book because I stopped to listen to something else with hubby during a long car ride, then came back to this one. I might have missed something, but I'm hoping y'all can fill me in. When Alix and family got a new dog afterward with different eye colors, why was she named Matilda, for obvious reasons? (Paraphrasing, since I didn't bookmark that spot in the audio.)

As for the real mystery, it feels almost like a choose-your-own-ending type of story. I'd have preferred something more definite myself, but if the goal was to keep us wondering whose truth was the truth, then it was certainly well-crafted.

And, Mansi, I agree about Walter being a pedophile. Even if crazy Josie asked for it, as the adult, he should have removed himself from that situation. Ugh!(view spoiler)[ (hide spoiler)] (hide spoiler)]

[Denise]

TerryJane wrote: "I finished last night and will go 4 stars for it. I listened to the audio, and while done very well, the background noise for some of the podcast interviews was terribly distracting. I understand i..."

yes to the dog question

[Mansi V]

Denise wrote: "Mansi V wrote: "@Denise I see you rated it 2 stars so interested to hear your thoughts. Honestly with how disappointed with thrillers I've been recently, I was scared this was going to be a 2 star ..."

Ahhh ok and to be fair I completely agree with all your criticisms haha.

[Mansi V]

TerryJane wrote: "I finished last night and will go 4 stars for it. I listened to the audio, and while done very well, the background noise for some of the podcast interviews was terribly distracting. I understand i..."

(view spoiler)[ yeah definitely quite an open ending, but I thought this played quite well into the whole documentary/true crime premise, because sometimes with documentaries, you don't discover the whole truth.

I was also lost about the dog!! I'm not sure if it's a pop culture reference I don't know about ?! (hide spoiler)]

[Mansi V]

WAIT!! My physical book didn't have the bonus chapter so I just listened to it! Has anyone else read it? It gives a clear cut ending for those who didn't like the whole choose your own ending aspect of it (view spoiler)[ It kind of changes everything and I did like it as one last twist but I did also like the openendedness of the book without it. (hide spoiler)]

[TerryJane, Challenges]

Mansi V wrote: "WAIT!! My physical book didn't have the bonus chapter so I just listened to it! Has anyone else read it? It gives a clear cut ending for those who didn't like the whole choose your own ending aspec..."

Assuming it's the chapter marked "Sixteen Months Later - March 2022," I did hear it before, and I went back to hear it again just now.

(view spoiler)[Josie mentions lying about things she'd done and things she didn't, and truths and untruths that can never be unraveled. She says this final variation of the story is key to her identity, that it feels true and she hopes it is true, but she's not really sure if the memories are true or if they are dreams, hallucinations. She's so unreliable as a narrator and doesn't seem completely sure of the truth herself, so it still doesn't feel clear cut to me. (hide spoiler)] 🤔

[Mansi V]

Yeah that was the last chapter in my physical book too but the audiobook has a bonus chapter that looks like it just came out a few months ago and tells you a definitive ending (view spoiler)[ it instead says Roxy was the one lying all along and makes it seem like this is definitive (hide spoiler)]

[TerryJane, Challenges]

Mansi V wrote: "Yeah that was the last chapter in my physical book too but the audiobook has a bonus chapter that looks like it just came out a few months ago and tells you a definitive ending [spoilers removed]"

Wow! I listened to the audio, Mansi, but "Sixteen Months Later" is the final chapter on mine. I suppose my library might have ordered it before the bonus chapter was added. It was only just published in July 2023, though. Strange that they'd have revised it already.

I may check other libraries to see if their copies are longer than the 10:20 version I have. But just in case they are all the same, I thank you for sharing the info in that last spoiler.

[Denise]

Mansi V wrote: "Yeah that was the last chapter in my physical book too but the audiobook has a bonus chapter that looks like it just came out a few months ago and tells you a definitive ending [spoilers removed]"

I wonder why she did that unless she was surprised that (view spoiler)[ a lot of people thought Josie was the one lying when she intended it to be Roxy all along and wants to correct the error. I'm not buying it though, just because Roxy has ODD not does not make her a liar nor does it make her commit random acts of violence. I'm sure there is exaggeration all around but I think Josie is the main liar (hide spoiler)]

[Mansi V]

Denise wrote: "Mansi V wrote: "Yeah that was the last chapter in my physical book too but the audiobook has a bonus chapter that looks like it just came out a few months ago and tells you a definitive ending [spo..."

(view spoiler)[ After the bonus chapter, I kinda think the whole family is just messed up and are all hiding things. Also from my experience with thrillers, authors often tend to link mental disorders to being evil?? It gets so annoying (hide spoiler)] I thought maybe people were annoyed at the open ending and so maybe wanted a clearer ending, hence the bonus chapter? But also could just be a money grab

[Mansi V]

TerryJane wrote: "Mansi V wrote: "Yeah that was the last chapter in my physical book too but the audiobook has a bonus chapter that looks like it just came out a few months ago and tells you a definitive ending [spo..."

Yeah I'm surprised my audiobook had it, I listened to it on Spotify!

[Denise]

Mansi V wrote: "Denise wrote: "Mansi V wrote: "Yeah that was the last chapter in my physical book too but the audiobook has a bonus chapter that looks like it just came out a few months ago and tells you a definit..."

I also thought about the (view spoiler)[mental illness = evil trope and i don';t like it, but I don't read many thrillers so I didn't know it was common (hide spoiler)]