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Everything but the Truth: Gillian McAllister

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The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: So after feeling let down by the last few If Only... titles, Everything But the Truth was a pleasant surprise. It's a short book with a simple plot - mainly focused on the romance - but I liked it. Holly's mother is a single parent, but they have a fairly good relationship and there's little tension there. The sub-plot definitely revolved around Holly and her best friend, Alex. Holly feels her best friend is slowly dumping her for another girl, Rena, and she often feels left out and hurt - a feeling a lot of us know all too well. That sub-plot took a wonderful twist and while at the end, I was still questioning some of the actions a bit, I really liked it.

Everything but the Truth (Audio Download): Gillian McAllister Everything but the Truth (Audio Download): Gillian McAllister

I was completely absorbed by this book. It's quite a steady story, but it really gets under your skin. An outstanding debut by, Gillian McAllister, and I genuinely hope there is more to come. I wish I had loved this story, I really do, but unfortunately it was all to similar to other books I've read recently but not quite so well done. The story is very believable and all the main characters are as close to real life as you can possibly imagine. I related to the storyline instantly and I can imagine a high percentage of people will feel the same once they have read this book. Learning to trust, forgive, accept and move on, are things we all have to deal with, and Gillian manages to portray this impeccably throughout the whole book. Holly's life has been on the low end of the financial scale until her mom's latest job. Dad bailed early on, they struggled and she knew what pinching pennies meant in a way that most other kids her age never understood. It took several years, but now Mom has a degree and is near the end of her probation at a dream job, managing a very high class retirement home on an island in Washington State. Holly, short for Holiday, likes art, creativity and helping out the nicer residents. She saves the tips they give her for college. A disquieting exploration of how events in the past take on a whole new perspective when parenthood looms. An assured and gripping debut." - Alex Marwood

Once I'd started I was of course powerless to stop. Everything But the Truth is a dream debut, brilliantly executed, clever and utterly realistic. I loved it." - Jill Mansell

Everything But the Truth - Goodreads Everything But the Truth - Goodreads

McAllister delivers a fascinating, complex and fast paced read about love, lies and acceptance. You won't be able to put it down!" - Hollie Overton Everything but the Truth is the sixth addition to the If Only series, a set of young adult contemporary romances written by various authors, all centered around the theme of wanting what you can’t have. They are lighthearted reads, a new spin on the ever-popular forbidden love trope. Tipped as a Cinderella-inspired story, Mandy Hubbard’s newest is about college-bound Holly, a girl who has never lived a privileged lifestyle. It’s only recently that she and her mom could start living comfortably, thanks to her mom’s promotion as the new manager of a ritzy retirement home. The problems begin when she meets Malik, the famous and gorgeous grandson of one of the richest men in the world, who happens to be staying there. When Malik mistakes her identity as someone else – someone rich and who belongs in his world – she doesn’t correct him, thinking that whatever they start will be nothing more than a summer fling. Soon, lies and feelings are getting all mixed up… Is it too late for Holly to tell him the truth? The main conflict is that Malik thinks Holly is the granddaughter of one of the rich residents of the retirement home. She perpetuates this lie because she's worried at first that Malik is shallow and won't like her if she isn't rich. Then, when she realizes that isn't true, she's afraid to tell him because he doesn't like it when people use him for his wealth and fame - which she isn't at all. But she knows he'll break up with her for telling a lie. Their relationship isn't really built on a lie; he knows a lot about Holly's true self. I think this plot resolved pretty nicely. Holly Matthew’s mother is the new manager at a glitzy retirement home called Sunset Towers that caters to the super-rich with decadent taste and lots of money. Holly herself doesn’t mind the sweet retirees she sees every day—a perk that comes from having the nice little apartment she shares with her mum nestled in the middle of the estate—and enjoys interacting with them. Yet when Malik Buchannan, the impossibly gorgeous grandson of Sunset Towers latest resident mistakes her for the granddaughter of one of the residents and not the staff, Holly finds herself struggling to tell Malik the truth—especially as they spend more time together and Holly begins to realise that Malik isn’t the notorious party boy portrayed in the media….. While the story is one that has been seen in YA before, Mandy Hubbard's nuanced characterizations for Holly, makes her a likable character that readers will want to root for. Holly's struggles to tell Malik the truth, along with the moments where she lets her genuine personality and interests shine through, makes this a fun tale that will keep readers reading and engaged.The plot has a very simple boy like girl, girl like boys story line with that main complication - that Malik doesn't know who Holly actually is. It's a super short read with very simple pacing. There's a satisfactory happy ending so you'll be finishing the book feeling joyful that everything is solved, including the friendship problem. Holly had a unique personality and I must commend Hubbard for making an effort to make Holly different. She’s the only teenager I’ve read about who has such a love for antiques and who knows so much about art. Holly made me smile with her endearing ways. Everything but the Truth is Gillian McAllister's stunning breakthrough thriller about deceit, betrayal and one woman's compulsive need to uncover the truth. It's a small thing, but it hasn't been that long since the debate on whitewashing in YA, so I absolutely appreciate this step forward. I hugely enjoyed this novel and found it was a brilliant, riveting read which left my feeling satisfied.

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