Nothing But The Truth by Avi Review

TITLE: Nothing But The Truth

AUTHOR: AVI

PUBLISHER: Scholastic Inc.

PAGES: 177

MY RATING: 1.5/5

BACK COVER BLURB: Ninth grader Philip Malloy has one thing on his mind: running. When a failing English grade keeps him from joining the track team, he believes his teacher, Miss Narwin, has it in for him. One morning during announcements, he disregards the school's policy of observing "The Star-Spangled Banner: in respectful silence and hums along, hooping to get transferred out of her class. Little does he know that his minor infraction will make him the subject of national media attention. What truly happened that morning in Miss Narwin's class? Examine the events and reach your own conclusion. But--can you swear to tell the truth and nothing but the truth?

OVERALL IMPRESSION: I did not enjoy this book at all. The only reason I finished it was because it was short and a very quick read. The plot angered me and the story never really went anywhere. I just feel like more could have been done with the storyline. It was boring and nothing got accomplished.

COVER: I do like the cover of the book. I love that it's simple and that they used the word to The Star Spangled Banner in the form of a flag; I think that's pretty clever.

CHARACTERS: Philip was an okay character. I understand that he is young and doesn't fully grasp the severity of the situation, but I feel like he could have spoke up at the end of the story. I did not like Philip's dad. It seems like this whole situation could have been avoided if Philip's dad did not push him so hard to talk to their neighbor when obviously Philip was reluctant to do so. I also did not really enjoy the character of Miss Narwin. I feel like she should have tried a little harder to stand up for herself instead of just rolling over and taking it.

*I won this book in a contest at www.teenreads.com