Evoking the same small town charm with the same great eye for character, the co-author of Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Society finds her own voice in this debut novel about a young debutante working for the Federal Writer’s Project whose arrival in Macedonia, West Virginia changes the course of history for a prominent family who has been sitting on a secret for decades. The Romeyn family is a fixture in the town, their identity tied to its knotty history. Layla enters their lives and lights a match to the family veneer and a truth comes to light that will change each of their lives forever.
At the intersection of family and love, life and lies, loyalty and forgiveness, is The Truth According to Us. In the summer of 1938, 12-year-old Willa is determined to learn things; anything and everything. When a new boarder hired by the Federal Writers’ Project comes to town to write the History of Macedonia, West Virginia, Willa seizes her chance, visions of book dedications dancing in her head. But what she finds out rips her world to pieces and changes everyone for good.
I absolutely adored this book. The small town life evoked by Annie Barrows was vivid; the book itself is masterful and engrossing. The characters, the scenes, and the setting create a tapestry of moving imagery that stays with you long after turning the last page and closing the back cover.
I received a copy of this book for free from NetGalley. I was not required to provide a positive review and all opinions expressed are my own.
The Girl with Book Lungs 