Review: Nothing but the Truth (and a few white lies) by Justina Chen Headley

From Inside Jacket: Not quite a banana (Asian on the outside but white on the inside), and not quite an egg (a white kid who gets off on all things Asian), half-and-half Patty Hot has never felt completely at home in her skin. Life at House Ho is tough enough between her ultra-strict Taiwanese mom (epic-length lectures and all) and her Harvard-bound big brother. But things get worse when a Chinese fortune-teller channels Patty's future via her belly button ... and divines a white guy on her romance horizon. Faster than Patty can add two plus two, her mom freaks out and ships her off to math camp at Stanford. Just as Patty writes off her summer of woe, life starts glimmering with all kinds of probabilities ...

My Rating: 4.5 hearts 

  

Thoughts on the Novel: A couple of weeks ago when I was browsing through the shelves of my local library, I came upon Justina Chen Headley’s novels Nothing but the Truth (and a few white lies) and Girl Overboard. Since I’d read North of Beautiful about a year ago and had liked it, I decided to check out both books. Though I haven’t read Girl Overboard yet, Nothing but the Truth (and a few white lies) was a great book and I think it’s even better than North of Beautiful.

As someone who is bi-racial, Headley’s Nothing but the Truth (and a few white lies) really resonated with me because I can completely empathize with Patty. While I’ve been lucky to have never had to deal with racism like Patty, I do remember how it feels to not belong and hide your background to fit in better.

Patty was such a funny protagonist and the Truth Theorems and essays written by her that Headley incorporated into the novel were a very creative touch. I loved reading about Patty’s transformation from someone who was ashamed of her Asian heritage to one who embraces it!

Nothing but the Truth (and a few white lies) was published by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers in April 2007.    

Comments About the Cover: The pink and green forming a purple blossom tree in the background look great together and I like how the model is smiling as if she has a secret or two. Overall, the cover is pretty and gives off a girly vibe.