Where the Truth Lies by Jessica Warman

Title: Where the Truth Lies

Author: Jessica Warman

Age Group: Teens

# of Pages: 320

My Rating: 4.5/5

To everyone, Emily has a perfect life. She attends a prep school where her father is the headmaster of and has three best friends. However, for most of her life she has been having nightmares frequently, about either water or fire, but doesn't know why. She goes to therapy frequently but nothing helps.

Enter Del Sugar, a new boy in school with a mysterious background and has an attraction to Emily. She doesn't understand why he likes her, but nonetheless is compelled by his bad boy charm. Being with him makes her feel alive and she loves every second of it. But then the truth of Emily's past starts to unravel and things start to fall apart. What will she decide in the end?

When I first started out the novel, it was readable but didn't completely grab my attention. I had it by my bed for about two months until I decided to take a stab at it again.

The more I read, the more I was seeing bits of myself in Emily. When you have a character that you strongly relate to in any sense, you want to continue reading til the end to see what will happen to them. I won't spoil anything but everything her parents did was in order to protect her. I felt that she was similar to me in that aspect because I have such conservative parents and they won't let me do anything; but I know in the end they want what is best for me.

I found Del's part to be so interesting because he didn't like Emily for no apparent reason, compared to most YA novels I've read. Del is a very complex character and has quite a history of his own. I like that there are a lot of dimensions to him and Emily. So it was quite fascinating to read how both reacted to the same situation differently because of their mindset. Another character I found quite unique was Emily's long-time friend, Stephanie, because she had the biggest brother complex on the planet. The aspect she plays in the novel is that friends sometimes do no last forever and I love how the author added that to the book. No matter how long of a history that you and a friend may have, there are things in life that will separate you over time.

After reading this novel, especially if you're a young adult, it really does put things into perspective when it comes to being responsible. Emily did something that changed her life forever. It really put a huge strain on her and made her question a lot of things. I would be devastated if she was my daughter and knew what she went through. It really made me appreciate my parents.

This is a fantastic novel dealing with growing up and making hard decisions in life. Where the Truth Lies gives everyone something to think about.

Review copy provided by Penguin Canada.