The Almost Truth by Eileen Cook

Title: The Almost Truth
Author: Eileen Cook
Pages: 256
Publisher: Simon Pulse/Simon Schuster Canada
Release Date: December 4, 2013

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Summary: (Goodreads)

Sadie can’t wait to get away from her backwards small town, her delusional mom, her jailbird dad, and the tiny trailer where she was raised…even though leaving those things behind also means leaving Brendan. Sadie wants a better life, and she has been working steadily toward it, one con at a time.

But when Sadie’s mother wipes out Sadie’s savings, her escape plan is suddenly gone. She needs to come up with a lot of cash—and fast—or she’ll be stuck in this town forever.

With Brendan’s help, she devises a plan—the ultimate con—to get the money. But the more lies Sadie spins, the more she starts falling for her own hoax…and perhaps for the wrong boy. Sadie wanted to change her life, but she wasn't prepared to have it flipped upside down by her own deception. With her future at stake and her heart on the line, suddenly it seems like she has a lot more than just money to lose....

*ARC received from Simon & Schuster Canada for honest review*

Review:

The Almost Truth was such an awesome book!! It is definitely one of my favorites from Eileen Cook. I absolutely love the cover!! Since reading the summary I was intrigued with the plot about a young con-artist and how she wants to improve her life and go to the college of her dreams. Eileen Cook is a great writer who can grab your attention with a good plot and lovable characters. 

Sadie is anything but perfect in her life, growing up on a trailer park resort island. Growing up her father has been in and out of prison, and Sadie has accepted her fate and made the best of it. As her determination to leave to follow her dream college at Berkley, California as a way to start a new life. She has money saved up by working some cons, which aren't big ones that get her caught. The surprise that her mother then drains her bank account and now she has no college money to leave, and in order to leave. Sadie comes up with one of the biggest cons in order to make the money quick and gets the help of her best friend Brendan to help. 

I loved all the characters especially Sadie because she is like any other teenager who wants to get away from her parents, has a sense of humor and is living a hard life. She is nothing like her father, she does the cons for a reason and does it in a morally way. She has a drive which makes her decide to leave the island. I liked her as a characters because she grows during the con and at times she feels close to this character who she is impersonating, so she does get confused and feels lost, but in the end still is determined to her goal. 

The romance in the novel wasn't the main topic, but it did give me the great feeling that she did end up with the right guy because he is so loveable. It was emotional and the plot adds up to the end because those twists and turns give The Almost Truth meaning. I really loved this books and the ending was great! It had everything that I liked in a YA contemporary. Definitely pick this one up!!