Everything but the truth by Mandy Hubbard

Bloomsbury, 2015. ISBN 9781619636606
(Age: 14+) Everything but the Truth is a novel that speaks to the reader about the struggle between social status defined by monetary wealth through the genres of romance and drama. This novel by Mandy Hubbard is one in a collection of the 'If Only' line which is a group of novels written by various authors containing the same genres as 'Everything but the Truth'. Hubbard's novel focuses on a teenage girl, Holly Mathews, whom has lived in a single parent family for the majority of her life, often experiencing financial hardship as her mother works to put them in a better monetary situation. Holly's mother's efforts are successful when she is employed by a very ritzy and expensive retirement home for the rich, wealthy and luxurious, which places Holly in the perfect position to meet the possible man of her dreams through his newly allocated grandfather. Due to an unfortunate turn of events, Holly finds herself in a situation where the truth about her may interfere with the chance of romance she has stumbled into and her mother's new job. Holly finds herself torn between doing what is best and doing what is right. With collage around the corner and her life-long best friend slowly becoming distant and her choice about the truth becoming more and more urgent, Holly learns the importance of the relationships in her life.
Everything but the truth is a novel rich with moral decisions and meaning as well as having a strong and relatable story in the terms of financial wealth and social status. This book contains romantic themes and may be suited to an older teenage audience (+14) and lovers of romance and drama. Overall, this book provides a great solution to any reader's cravings for the genres of romance and drama in novels while still being strongly relatable and a hard book to put down.
Sarah Filkin (University student)