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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
This Author Speaks the Truth, July 28, 2007
This review is from: Two Truths and a Lie (Paperback)
From the title (it comes from a game that a high school English instructor has his students play in class) to the plot, the character development and its themes, Amanda Griffith's first novel written for young adults-- and we hope not her last-- should appeal first to teenage girls. It also has something to say, however, to young men, teachers, parents and other adults as well as anyone who enjoys reading an enthralling story.
Although it has been a long time since I was a teenager, parts of this very well-written novel took me back many years to my high school days when being accepted by the cheerleader/football crowd was everything and being different was anathema. (You never, never wore green on Thursdays, for example.) Apparently some things never change.
Ms. Griffith tells her story through Brandy, a very bright and pretty sophomore in a Connecticut high school, who is from an upper middle class family, and who desperately wants to belong to the in-crowd at school that is run by Kirsten and Brittany, who hang out with David, a troubled, devious young man, and his friend Jerry. Brandy's chum Celia has a weight problem. There is also a young woman named Jenna, Brandy's parents, the high school principal and several teachers including Mr. Conners (who is teaching Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar" in his English class) among this writer's cast of characters.
Ms. Griffith, an English instructor for twenty years, gets into the heads and hearts of teenagers. Her characters are extremely well developed and completely believable, from their teenage slang to their dress, their makeup, their group cruelty or the tendency to gang up on the underdog. Their abuse of Ms. Sutton, the substitute math teacher, rings true on every page. Another truth: Coach Cromwell is the lazy history teacher, who puts his feet up on the teacher's desk in a room "shared by those who floated in when they weren't doing what they considered to be their real jobs out on the athletic field." (In my high school he taught driver's ed.) But the plot is just as good as Griffith's characters and has a surprise or two for the reader. She writes unflinchingly about the perils of teenage drinking, sexual predators, how important honesty and character are, and what makes a good friend, lessons we all need to be be reminded of again and again.
Each chapter of the novel begins with a quotation from "Julius Caesar." Since I have not read the play since I was a sophomore in high school, I'm sure I didn't get all the parallels between the play and this story although there are certainly betrayal and assassination (if only character assassination in the latter) in both.
TWO TRUTHS AND A LIE should be in every high school library.
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4.0 out of 5 stars
Two Truths and a Lie, November 12, 2007
This review is from: Two Truths and a Lie (Paperback)
With a clever title, Amanda Griffith's TWO TRUTHS AND A LIE is a fast-paced read. The theme is universal--to be a part of the in group at any cost. This novel is set in a high school where this group is overly important. The reader is quickly drawn into Brandy's attempt to please the girls who run the INs. You will cringe at their treatment of Brandy and her friends.
Griffith knows whereof she writes. Every character stands out. Some you love and some you want to slap. If you're a high schooler, get this book. You and your friends will be talking about it to everyone.
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1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
This Book was AMAZING!!!!, December 20, 2006
A Kid's Review
This review is from: Two Truths and a Lie (Paperback)
Omg!!
I bought this book from Mrs.Griffth and was amazed. I had her in 3rd and 4th period language arts last year, but I never realized she was not only amazing teacher, but an amazing author. When I started this book, I was like Oh My gosh, I bet its boring, but two chapters in, I was like OH My Gosh, this book rocks. I told my friends about this book and I already have a waiting list of six girls that want to borrow and read my copy of the book. When I started reading this book, I absolutely could not put it down. I swear I can RELATE to this book, like how the girl in the story, wants to fit in and tells you what can happen if you go to far. If you do not read this book you will really be missing out. This was FANTASTIC Mrs.Griffith!!!
Natasha
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