Reviews with content warning for Child abuse - None of This Is True

Long Story Short: Alix Summers, a popular podcaster, discovers the subject of her next series when she meets Josie Fair and the two realize they share the same birthday. As Josie's story unfolds, Alix finds her family intertwined in the unbelievable.

First things first: this is a very good audiobook. It's a full-fledged production with normal narration, "podcast" material, and "Netflix" excerpts that are engaging and different and fun. None of This Is True would be very good for discussions on boundary setting, the nature of podcasts in storytelling, and the impact of Covid-19.

Ultimately though, it's a slow burn story with an ending that feels like something is missing. At 34% I had an idea of what happened, but in reality the twist was not very twisty and didn't make a lot of sense. I've been a broken record of "I wish the ending wasn't so rushed" this year but man, I wish the ending wasn't so rushed.

CW: Descriptions of grooming, allusions to child sexual abuse, alcoholism

Enjoyment: 4/5
Craft: 3/5
Overall: 3.5/5

Content Warnings

lexa_k's review against another edition

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dark tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Content Warnings

elaniphil's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Content Warnings

bridgetmckernan's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Sped through this book. It was unsettling and a little ridiculous which made it a fun thriller to read.

I liked the alternating points of view, but couldn’t stand them being delivered in the form of a podcast turned Netflix series. This may land better as an audiobook. Or an actual Netflix series.

Found myself skimming parts to get to the end but,

enjoyed the ambiguity of the ending that allows readers to decide what they believe from all the details provided. I have my conclusion.

A good one for book club.

Content Warnings

mairi99's review against another edition

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dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

saskiarodenburg's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

This was so difficult to rate. It was well paced with well developed characters but overall

the whole thing felt very victim blamey especially when it came to Josie and Walter. Was Josie a bad person? Oh for sure BUT I simply can’t accept that Walter wasn’t a pedophile who was a “good father.” Like sure, he was a good dad but at the end of the day he was a pedophile who married two different very young (teenage) girls. ALSO, Roxy supposedly killed her girlfriend Brooke and just continues to dunk on her mom on the podcast etc? Especially when her mom helped her cover up the murder and just never told anyone?!? Insane behaviour.

Content Warnings

suchallie's review against another edition

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dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

This was a quick and easy read, it was easy to get into and it really picked up on the last half of the book. I think the concept and structure are fairly novel and they work here, however I wasn’t a fan of the theme of gaslighting victims of abuse (regardless whether the abuse in the plot was true in the universe or not this isn’t necessarily a narrative we need to be pushing). Also the fact that Walter is deemed as imperfect and not villainous by the end despite being an actual pedophile and just all around creep is pretty nuts. Sorry, but I don’t care if he is a good dad, he’s still a pedophile?? I would have liked a spicier ending as well with Josie.

Content Warnings

bookwitch's review against another edition

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dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

This whole book was just un-comfy. I don't really love Lisa Jewell's style (this is my third book by her) but it does go by relatively quickly. As with many of these types of books, nobody really has clean hands by the end.

Do I think Josie did everything she was blamed for? No, but she definitely isn't innocent either. What I would really actually like to know, is whose phone case was left behind. I left this feeling like Katelyn was super suspicious as well.

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