Tell Us Something True
Dana Reinhardt
Having just been dumped unceremoniously in the middle of a romantic paddle on a lake, River is feeling a bit down. When he sees a sign promoting what he thinks is a normal meeting, he ends up faking a weed addiction to stay in the teenage support group as he connects with a girl who is somehow out of his league. What will happen when his lies fall apart?
Having just read a novel where there is a difference between nice guys and good guys, River makes a good contrast of it. He starts out nice, passes through completely useless, then maybe to good. It’s that character evolution of being just another guy to being one who has gotten a bit of self-awareness happening.
I totally did not see that connection coming! Obviously I can’t give it away, but it’s pretty damn good. River gets away with a lot of stuff because he’s always been a ‘good son’, but damn, I was a good daughter and I never got away with that much! I can empathise with a lot of what River goes through (including taking a long time to get his driver’s licence), which is probably why this novel ranked so highly with me.
I’m going to compare this novel to Girls Love Travis Walker, and that makes this novel a reread – worth 5 stars from me. Amazing that a young adult novel which could be seen as a bit whiney got my vote of confidence.
ONE WORLD | August 2016 | AU $16.99 | Paperback
I really like how the story develops with only hints of Annabel’s problems. It keeps the reader interested, and then invested in both of the characters. Julia too takes some time to get used to, and most of the time I found myself sympathising with her and wishing that she had more guts!
Kendra! I love you! I love you every time I read you. You’re plucky, irritating, and yet becoming more human all the time. I do wish you weren’t so stubborn, you should know that your friends will go first, but ah well. Everyone has their blind spots right? [How punny!]
Lily is very… cold. I found it difficult to empathise with her because she seemed unchanged by deaths she had caused. Is it simply a side effect of being a witch? Or is it something else about her character that makes her too much like Lillian. They are the same person after all. I don’t think it was all about Lillian manipulating Lily, much as Rowan wanted to blame her.
There is no feeling of Merlin as a character as she begins simply as a construction of impersonal memories. The novel is plot based, and moves at a relatively fast pace once Merlin encounters other inhabitants of the desolate world. As long as you read this lightly without too many preconceived notions of how an apocalyptic novel should go, you will enjoy it.
To an extent I felt like I didn’t know Lily, despite having things from her perspective the whole time. She is a crucible I suppose, so being empty is part of it. I did feel like her character progressed though. Rowan on the other hand felt very static, although his attitude to Lily changed. Not that there is anything wrong with that.
Considering that there are some situations that could potentially be huge, the writing is sensitive, nuanced, and realistic. It’s just as good as, and perhaps better than, this author’s other novels (I have reviewed 
What might be a fruitless task is explored sensitively and in a reckless pace that makes you want to keep reading. It’s like the aftermath of a train wreck where you think the worst has happened, but then more things keep popping up.
Here the multiple perspectives worked quite well, but not flawlessly. I could have done without some in favour of some more from Lily’s captor. I imagine that he would have been the hardest character to write, as he needed to be realistic and yet creepily absent at the same time. He reminded me of 
This novel is basically built on the idea that monsters are more interesting than heroes. Isn’t that true? Monsters always get to have more fun! I’m not sure that’s exactly true for the entirety of the novel, but true feelings come out towards the end.