"A gripping, ripped-from-headlines tale." --People
"Spellbinding." --Megan Abbott, *The New York Times Book Review
*
Tracing the fifteen-year fallout of a toxic high school rumor, a
riveting, astonishingly original debut novel about the power of
stories--and who gets to tell them
2015. A gifted and reclusive ghostwriter, Alice Lovett makes a living
helping other people tell their stories. But she is haunted by the one
story she can't tell: the story of, as she puts it, the things that
happened while I was asleep.
1999. Nick Brothers and his lacrosse teammates return for their senior
year at their wealthy Maryland high school as the reigning state
champions. They're on top of the world--until two of his friends drive a
passed-out girl home from of the team's legendary parties, and a rumor
about what happened in the backseat spreads through the town like
wildfire.
The boys deny the allegations, and, eventually, the town moves on. But
not everyone can. Nick descends into alcoholism, and Alice builds a life
in fits and starts, underestimating herself and placing her trust in the
wrong people. When she finally gets the opportunity to confront the past
she can't remember--but which has nevertheless shaped her life--will she
take it?
An inventive and breathtaking exploration of a woman finding her voice
in the wake of trauma, True Story is part psychological thriller, part
fever dream, and part timely comment on sexual assault, power, and the
very nature of truth. Ingeniously constructed and full of twists and
turns that will keep you guessing until the final pages, it marks the
debut of a singular and daring new voice in fiction.
