"All the Truth That's In Me" by Julie Berry

Genre: YA Historical Fiction/ Mystery/ Thriller
Format: Paperback, 288 pages
Publication: Viking September 26, 2013
Cover Rating: 5/5 Stars

My Goodreads: Four years ago, Judith and her best friend disappeared from their small town of Roswell Station. Two years ago, only Judith returned, permanently mutilated, reviled and ignored by those who were once her friends and family. Unable to speak, Judith lives like a ghost in her own home, silently pouring out her thoughts to the boy who’s owned her heart as long as she can remember—even if he doesn’t know it—her childhood friend, Lucas. But when Roswell Station is attacked, long-buried secrets come to light, and Judith is forced to choose: continue to live in silence, or recover her voice, even if it means changing her world, and the lives around her, forever. This startlingly original novel will shock and disturb you; it will fill you with Judith’s passion and longing; and its mysteries will keep you feverishly turning the pages until the very last.

My Thoughts: First of all a HUGE thank you to my friend, Jen, over at At Random for letting my borrow and read this!

This book was just... AMAZING. I stayed up all night reading it and before I knew it I was turning the last page at 3:00 am this morning. It was intense. Seriously. There are some books that when I start reading them I get this tingling sensation in my fingers because I get so excited over the words, and that's when I know that it's going to be a five star read for me. This was one of those books. Everything about it was perfect- from the plot to character development to the fantastic ending. I loved it!

But let's face some of the issues that people seem to be having with it:

THIS IS NOT DYSTOPIA KIDS! This is Historical Fiction. So yes, the world is completely different. Think Puritans. However, Berry does fantastic job of keeping the reader from falling asleep during this time period. Like I said before, this is one intense story; and although our heroine is from this strict time, she also could very well fit into the modern world too. Judith is a wonderfully interesting character who I've come to love and respect.
The "mini-chapters". I'll admit, I was a little thrown off my game from this too. But the more I read, the less it bothered me. In fact, it fit in well with the book as a whole. As the publisher said, it's like a pinhole effect. We only see very little in the beginning, but as we read more the hole gets wider creating the bigger picture.

Honestly, I believe this is going to be one of those books that you either love it or hate it. And I LOVED it. I believe it had everything I could want in a book: mystery, romance, heroism, twists and turns across every page. It was just brilliant and so different from what's circulating the reading world right now. If you're looking for something truly original and magnificent then I suggest you read this book!