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The Truth According to Us: A Novel
by Annie Barrows

Published: 2015-06-09
Hardcover : 512 pages
10 members reading this now
28 clubs reading this now
5 members have read this book
Recommended to book clubs by 8 of 10 members
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the co-author of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society comes a wise, witty, and exuberant novel, perfect for fans of Lee Smith, that illuminates the power of loyalty and forgiveness, memory and truth, and the courage it takes to do what’s ...
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Introduction

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the co-author of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society comes a wise, witty, and exuberant novel, perfect for fans of Lee Smith, that illuminates the power of loyalty and forgiveness, memory and truth, and the courage it takes to do what’s right. 

Annie Barrows once again evokes the charm and eccentricity of a small town filled with extraordinary characters. Her new novel, The Truth According to Us, brings to life an inquisitive young girl, her beloved aunt, and the alluring visitor who changes the course of their destiny forever.

In the summer of 1938, Layla Beck’s father, a United States senator, cuts off her allowance and demands that she find employment on the Federal Writers’ Project, a New Deal jobs program. Within days, Layla finds herself far from her accustomed social whirl, assigned to cover the history of the remote mill town of Macedonia, West Virginia, and destined, in her opinion, to go completely mad with boredom. But once she secures a room in the home of the unconventional Romeyn family, she is drawn into their complex world and soon discovers that the truth of the town is entangled in the thorny past of the Romeyn dynasty.

At the Romeyn house, twelve-year-old Willa is desperate to learn everything in her quest to acquire her favorite virtues of ferocity and devotion—a search that leads her into a thicket of mysteries, including the questionable business that occupies her charismatic father and the reason her adored aunt Jottie remains unmarried. Layla’s arrival strikes a match to the family veneer, bringing to light buried secrets that will tell a new tale about the Romeyns. As Willa peels back the layers of her family’s past, and Layla delves deeper into town legend, everyone involved is transformed—and their personal histories completely rewritten.

Praise for The Truth According to Us

“As delightfully eccentric as Guernsey yet refreshingly different . . . an epic but intimate family novel with richly imagined characters . . . Willa’s indomitable spirit, keen sense of adventure and innate intelligence reminded me of two other motherless girls in literature: Scout Finch in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird and Flavia de Luce in Alan Bradley’s big-hearted British mystery series.”The Washington Post

The Truth According to Us has all the characteristics of a great summer read: A plot that makes you want to keep turning the pages; a setting that makes you feel like you’re inhabiting another time and place; and characters who become people you’re sad to leave behind—and thus who always stay with you.”Miami Herald

“It takes a brave author to make the heroine of a new novel an observant and feisty girl . . . like Scout Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird. . . . But Barrows . . . has created a believable and touching character in Willa.”USA Today

“[A] heartwarming coming-of-age novel [that] sparkles with folksy depictions of a tight-knit family and life in a small town . . . full of richly drawn, memorable characters.”The Seattle Times

“A big, juicy family saga with warm humor and tragic twists . . . The story gets more and more absorbing as it moves briskly along.”St. Louis Post-Dispatch

“Annie Barrows leaves no doubt that she is a storyteller of rare caliber, with wisdom and insight to spare. Every page rings like a bell.”—Paula McLain, author of The Paris Wife

Editorial Review

No editorial review at this time.

Excerpt

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Discussion Questions

Suggested by Members

What makes one's version of history more correct than the others?
Why do people think they can hide their past and what is the cost of doing so?
How can each member of a family be so different from each other?
by mrblock (see profile) 04/20/16

Our club seemed to focus on the redemption teme in this selection.
by Barbfrost (see profile) 01/24/16

Notes From the Author to the Bookclub

No notes at this time.

Book Club Recommendations

Member Reviews

Overall rating:
 
 
  "Slow started -don’t give up"by Oleta W. (see profile) 03/18/21

I stopped reading it after 100 pages but was encouraged by others to keep reading. I’m glad I kept going. The story line is interesting but the characters were what drew me in to the story. Willa, of... (read more)

 
  "The Truth According to Us"by Rose S. (see profile) 05/28/19

This story was a wonderful acknowledgment of how we can all change as people. It also reminds us of a simpler time where people also had problems to deal with. I think this book was wonderfully written... (read more)

 
by Laura N. (see profile) 01/11/18

 
  " This book won me over "by ELIZABETH V. (see profile) 09/21/17

Before I review THE TRUTH ACCORDING TO US, you should know my attitude going in: I resisted reading it. I had read the THE GUERNSEY LITERARY AND POTATO PEEL PIE SOCIETY and did not like it. ... (read more)

 
by ELAINE R. (see profile) 04/27/17

 
  "the truth according to us"by Carolyn R. (see profile) 08/09/16

n the summer of 1938, Layla Beck’s father, a United States senator, cuts off her allowance and demands that she find employment on the Federal Writers’ Project, a New Deal jobs program. ... (read more)

 
by Sharon J. (see profile) 06/11/16

 
  "The Truth According To US"by Richard B. (see profile) 04/20/16

What can the hiding and lying about your past cost you? And who's version of history do you believe when investigating the past history of a community. A young girl who goes off on her own when her... (read more)

 
  "The Truth According to Us"by Barbara F. (see profile) 01/24/16

Well researched, beautifully written and interesting plot describe this novel.

 
by Lucy E. (see profile) 01/14/16

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