Book Review

Two Truths And A Lie

Two Truths And A Lie by Meg Mitchell Moore was not my favorite book by the author but it was still a good read.

With similar vibes to The Islanders and set in the small New England town of Newburyport, the readers will see how the main characters can be so tightly intertwined and how they will all need one another and learn something whether they know it or not.

The story is told from 4 perspectives each bringing something unique to the story and allowing it to move along for the reader including Alexa, The Squad, Rebecca, and Sherri,

Alexa- She is 18 years old and getting ready to head to college in the fall or so her mom thinks. Alexa has a YouTube channel where she talks about the stock market and investing while denying her spot at Colby College but has not told anyone. Alexa is dealing with the death of her stepdad, navigating friend drama, and learning about love and relationships as she breaks up with her long-term boyfriend while unexpectedly falling in love with someone new.

The Squad- This group of eleven women both Sherri and Rebecca hang out since their daughters are all friends. They are the town's busybodies and gossipers. Their interpretation of the story brings some chorus of comedy and overview to the book.

Rebecca- Is Alexa's mom who is dealing with the tragic loss of her husband and trying to navigate what that looks like. She is dealing with the Mom Squad, rumors in a small town, and opinions of how she should be moving forward after her husband's death while raising Alexa and her younger sister Morgan. Rebecca may also be secretly dating someone and is trying to figure out how he fits into her life.

Sherri- She has moved to Newburyport with her young daughter Katie to start over and hide from their dark past. While Sherri learns what rebuilding looks like for her and Katie she also can see how hard it is to start over and meet new friends while finding people she can trust.

Each woman in the book besides The Squad embarks on the summer trying to process and heal while finding themselves again. What they don't know is they will learn along the way sometimes the people they think are their friends aren't and it's okay to remove themselves from the crowd, gossip, and toxic relationships.

Two Truths And A Lie by Meg Mitchell Moore is a beautifully written novel with the feeling of a summer read but like only this author can do so much more with layered and complex characters that all end up colliding and learning from one another.