I'm taken aback by the fact that regardless of everything that has happened these past couple of years someone would publish a book about how a rape allegation was blown out of proportion and turned out to be fake????!!!!!!!

The big reveal was awful and made worse by the fact that prior to this we genuinely thought that the author was writing a decent book about the aftermath of an assault. I actually liked the writing and now I'm just angry that I had to waste so much of my time on this.

Did no editor at Quercus Books think to read this and say Katy, can you change the really horrifying ending??!!!

The book was really good and on track to get a 4.5 rating from me right up until the ending. I found the 'twist' extremely problematic and no matter how good the rest of the book was, the end ruined it. I can't get past that and it's tainted the whole story.

Fantastic book. really unusual, which the cover does a great job of leading you into - congrats to the designer. I was engrossed by the stories, by the intersection and developments. Looking forward to more from this author.

I enjoyed this a lot more than I expected to - I would maybe have enjoyed slightly more tonal differentiation between 'versions', but overall it's a banger.

I read this novel a couple of weeks ago now and to be honest I’m still not sure what I thought of it so this mini review is rather hard to write! The novel is billed as the story of the aftermath of a sexual assault and is told in different genres – the first part is correct but I’m not sure that the different genres were really that different from each other. Having said that I did read this novel in one sitting and was intrigued by the strange paths it took me down as it went along. True Story is about a teenage girl who may or may not have been sexually assaulted on her way home from a party. She can’t remember what happened but it hugely affects her that men could have done this to her when she wasn’t conscious. We also follows the young men involved and see the story from their side and what happens to them as a result. I must admit that I didn’t know where this novel was going and the ending initially left me feeling angry and confused but the more it sits with me the more I feel like it makes sense. I still don’t know whether I enjoyed this book or not but it’s staying with me and I kind of want to re-read it a year or so from now to see how I feel then.

True Story by Kate Reed Petty tells the story of a teenage girl called Alice who may or may not have been assaulted at a party by a group of privileged high school lacrosse players when she was drunk, depending on whose version of events you’re relying on. I enjoyed the experimental way in which Petty explores the different perspectives through different genres, although some of the formats such as the draft essays for college applications can come across as slightly gimmicky or unnecessary. I can also entirely understand why some readers might be upset by the ending, even though I think it makes some interesting points about trauma, memory and what a true story really means - the title is definitely well chosen.

There was much to enjoy here, but I found I couldn't connect with it. I'd read more from this author in the future though.

It was happenstance that I happened to come across True Story by Kate Reed Petty. A stranger on the internet had tweeted:

"True Story is by turns a campus novel, psychological thriller, horror story and crime noir, each narrative frame stripping away the fictions we tell about women, men and the very nature of truth.”

And much like a meerkat, my ears perked up at hearing the words "Campus Novel" & "Psychological Thriller" in the same sentence. So I went ahead and started reading the book immediately. It wasn't a Dark Academia book like I'd expected it to be. But golly gosh, DID I ENJOY IT!

True Story starts with a group of kids in high school and a horrible event that might or might not have happened - and the fallout that happened due to the rumors around the event that continues to haunt the kids well into their adult lives.

If I say any more, it'll spoil the magic of the book for you, so I will be scarce on the details. But, jeez, this book. It is a trainwreck that you can't avert your eyes from no matter how much you try. Your nose will be firmly planted between the pages of the book even if you wish to close your eyes.

Kate Petty has a way of efficiently conveying a sense of urgency through her words that you will find your heart palpitating even if the scene in question just involves a guy drearily drunk out of his mind.

True Story puts a spin on the unreliable narrator(s) trope by introducing 2 main characters who aren't sure what the true story actually is, but whose lives are still shaped by the story, regardless of its veracity.

True Story is an enthralling, unputdownable piece of work that tackles a lot of societal issues in a very thought-provoking, experimental way and I recommend everyone to pick it up ASAP! 5/5

This book tried to achieve many things. Pitched as a multi genre-spanning novel exploring the reverberating effects of an alleged assault on a teen girl, it seems particularly poignant in the age of #metoo. However, this book was hit and miss for me. Parts were enthralling, particularly the section with Alice and Q, I found fascinating, it could've been a book in itself and the writing in parts showed me that Kate Reed Petty clearly knows what she's doing. In a way, that makes the let down of other parts of the book more disappointing, I know it could've been so much better!

My primary criticism I think is that the book just felt very disjointed. The different mediums of storytelling were interesting, but felt borderline gimmicky to me, and I found it hard to get invested in the story. True Story is not a bad book, I think it just overcomplicated itself. While I wouldn't particularly recommend it, it was still fairly enjoyable to read, and I'd happily try the next thing Kate Reed Petty writes.

I liked the concept of this, the different perspectives and styles but, did find the parts with the plays written too long and lost interest in this part.

This book was one of the best books I’ve read this year. It was completely different from what I expected of it, but it was a marvellous revelation. It had me on the edge of my seat and I finished it in less than 24 hours - it was incredible and mind blowing,
I can’t wait to read more of Kate Reed Petty!

First of all, thanks to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This is a really difficult book to summarise. Basically the story centres around an event that takes place in the 90's involving a group of high school teens. Alice, a private school girl and a horror movie enthusiast with a talent for writing, gets drunk at a party and passes out in the back of a guys car. He and his friend give her a lift home and then brag to their friends about how they had their way with her. But Alice can't remember a thing and this fact, combined with the boys' story that they sexually abused her sends her into a self-destructive spiral. She is haunted by the fact that she has no memory of the night and this affects her relationships, her career and her life. The book changes viewpoints and narrator, sometimes told in the first person and switching to the second and third person, which is disorienting and a bit uncomfortable to read.
There's shades of 13 Reasons Why and some of the content could be triggering. It's well-written and the concept is interesting - I just don't know how I feel about it. I think it almost gets to the point, but not quite. Still a compelling read - 3.5 stars.

A well-plotted and genre-melding book – a compelling read about the aftermath of a high school party and a rumour about a sexual assault. The novel cleverly incorporates different modes of narrative storytelling – including emails, essays, screenplays – and shifting perspectives to reflect on the nature of storytelling itself, on truth, and on the tangible impact that the stories that we hear and tell ourselves has on our lives.

This was a surprise to be honest as it went a lot deeper and darker than I imagined. The characters are well drawn and the plot whilst obviously challenging gets a very unexpected turn into violence. The ending did take me a small degree of suspension of disbelief as it's not quite where I thought it would end up. Overall a good if not fantastic read.thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the chance to read this

I wanted to like this more than I did. There are some good elements here and some compelling characters, and I loved the twist. But a lot of the narrative felt really disjointed and it doesn't all come together until the very end. I was so frustrated with it I almost didn't finish. When I finally found out how everything was connected, it wasn't as powerful a moment as it should've been. If you like experimental writing, I would give this a try--maybe it just caught me at the wrong time.

"True Story" follows a story of Alice, whose life has been forever altered by a sexual assault she has no recollection of. It is a high concept novel with an original and unusual narration in different forms, including letters, emails, first person narration as well as fragments of interviews and scripts. I admire the author for coming up with such an unusual book told in so many different ways, representing ways in which the truth can be distorted, manipulated and owned – but I am not sure if this book delivers on its promise. There were parts I really liked (Nick’s school memories, Alice’s college applications and emails) but equally there were parts which after I’ve finished the book seemed to me completely obsolete. I admire the author also for tackling the difficult subject and presenting it in a new way. However, the ending was the part in which I struggled to reconcile the message behind this book with its plot and the character development, as it seemed to cheapen it in my eyes somehow. I have also heard some negative feedback on how the author have tackled the subject, so I admit that it also alerted my own perception and rating of the book.

I was captivated from the start. The varied and unusual format added to the overall intrigue. The character development was so compelling that I felt a little sad when the story would shift from one character to another. How story affects our lives was powerfully, cleverly, and interestingly presented through beautiful writing and clever construction.

I had really high hopes for this book as the description completely drew me in but unfortunately, I didn't love it.

During a particularly wild college party, Richard notices a drunk private school girl and offers to drive her home. His loud-mouthed friend Max jumps in with them. At the diner later that evening, Max relays what happened with the girl in the back of Richard's car. His friends lap it up and soon everyone knows about Max, Richard and the private school girl whose vagina smelt like tuna. Fast-forward years later and we see what each person connected with the event is doing now and how that event has shaped their life. Will the truth ever emerge about that fateful night?

The main thing I disliked about this book was the writing style. There was so much repetition, broken sentences, and amateur writing, particularly in the college essays. Considering Alice wanted to be a journalist, I thought her writing was very poor. I struggled to connect to any of the characters, particularly Nick who I had no sympathy for. I struggled to see his importance in the story, more so when that was clarified in the end. The timeline jumped around a bit too much and I felt like I was never quite tethered to the story or characters. I also felt there was too much filler and not enough focus.

I really loved the concept of the story and can see what the author wanted to achieve. Unfortunately, the writing just fell short with me and impacted my overall views.

This is such a strong, well written debut! This used some of the usual tropes- sexual assault, trauma, former high school athlete etc-but dressed them up in a different way and ends up a very different kind of story of the powers of rumor and uncertainty. The ending was great too. Would definitely read another book by Petty

A unique, genre-blending novel, True Story is an impressive debut by Kate Reed Petty.
Alice Lovett can never forget the time at high school when she was sexually assaulted - or was she? That's the story she has always had in her head and years later the people who all took part in this alleged crime have been constantly haunted and need to understand what happened that fateful night.
An engrossing and enjoyable read.