Nothing But the Truth

by Justina Chen

A half Asian and half white teen navigates a summer of woe and love in this utterly relatable novel that Meg Cabot calls "A funny, touching read that will leave you craving more." Half Asian and half white, Patty Ho has never felt completely home in her skin. 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 ultra-strict Taiwanese mom freaks out and ships her off to math camp at Stanford. Just as Patty writes off her summer of woe, life starts glimmering will all kinds of possibilities.... Nothing But the Truth (and a few white lies) is a fresh and witty contemporary novel about finding yourself, perfect for fans of Mitali Perkins and Carolyn Mackler.

Genres: Young Adult, Fiction, Contemporary, Realistic Fiction, Romance, Teen, Asian American

256 pages, Paperback

First published April 5, 2006

About the author

Justina Chen was fated to be a storyteller. After all, her middle name means illuminate, which is what she aims to do with her novels: to be a light in the world.

Her novels include NORTH OF BEAUTIFUL, a finalist for 9 state book awards, and NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH (AND A FEW WHITE LIES), winner of the Asian Pacific American Literature Award. Additionally, she's written a beloved picture book, THE PATCH, a number of other YA novels, and multiple storytelling guides for leaders.

Justina's next book is WITH TWICE THE LOVE, DESSIE MEI, her debut middle grade novel for young readers. She's thrilled for you to meet Dessie and Donna in May 2024. The book is available for pre-order now.

While she has called Seattle, Sydney, and Shanghai home, Justina feels at ease wherever she goes so long as she has her coconut black tea, books, and a notebook.

Reviews

[Helen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was avoiding this book because the protagonist has a Taiwanese mother and there's Taiwanese in the book -- it just hit a little TOO close to home in some ways.

After I got over my Asian-mother baggage, I discovered this is really one of the most creative young adult books I've read in a long time. It wasn't just the self-discovery and coming to terms with the parental culture clash. I read about stuff I've never even heard of before. Definitely a stand-out piece that I'll remember.

I found the protag's witty turn-of-phrases to be very creative but excessive. Turns out there was a reason for it. Hmm.

[Sin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nothing but the Truth (and a few white lies) tells the story of Patty Ho, half white, half Taiwanese, and fully confused. As a girl of half Asian and half white ethnicity, I felt an definite connection between myself and Patty. What Justina Chen Headley does so well is to really capture the in between that I'm sure all biracial teens feel and put those feelings into words. Also, I admire that she didn't make Patty's story merely about finding her identity in terms of race but also in terms of her individual self. As with most books, there are a few lapses, mostly parts that feel rushed or genuine, but the rest of the book is too good to really complain too much about it. Be sure to place this book on your "too-read" list!

[Lo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Most of the time, when authors write books about Asian teens, I love the brutal honesty and the way I can relate to the book with my own experiences (though I do wish someone would write a book about an Asian person who deals with problems everyone else deals with too.) I expected this book to be the same.

The first thing that surprised me was the fact that Patty was half white. Her father had left when she was so young she can't even remember, and she was raised by her strict Taiwanese mother.

The second was the fact that Patty felt so uncomfortable in her not fully Asian, not fully white skin. The other white kids in her school terrorize and make fun of her. (Not to be racist, but from my experience white people usually are more mixed than Asians, so why were they making fun of her?)

For the summer, Patty gets shipped off to math camp, her escape from her mother's strict rules. She makes rebellious friends and falls head over heels for a hot Asian guy, her first ever kiss and would-be-boyfriend (though I can't seem to find anything good about him besides his brains and good looks.)

In North of Beautiful, another book by Justin Chen, the blunt narration seemed to connect you to the main character, whereas in this book, the narration seemed to distance you from her, or irritate you.

The way Patty uses the word hapa all the time was sort of annoying, despite the fact she's trying to make a point about herself. She didn't always have to mention her race; the lesson should be more like whether or not you're full blood or mixed, it's just a race, and all races are equal.

Around the ending when she finds out her mother's secret it brightened up a bit, but fell back when she proved all she was interested in was finding a guy to date.

A minor disappointment from Chen's other work.

[chloe · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Irene · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story started with half america half chinese - hapa. How Math camp at Stanford changed her or how she changed herself, with friends (Jas and Anne) and accepting who she was. It was a nice book about self discovery.

Quoted from the book: The truth is, labels are nothing but what we attach to ourselves and to other people, just like labels that are glued onto spaghetti sauce jars or something. Take off the label and there's a mystery inside.'

In the book, there was a job where people get paid to create new names for regular old things, games to gadgets. We can all create our own selves, our own labels, just as neologists create words. The final and the most impressive thing about this book was how it brought out the deep reflection, how actually everyone is a 'half-breed' in some way, acting differently or known to different people in a different way. How everyone is a tourist, in different places different situations, and the important thing is to remember that touring is an adventure, learn to accept the truth and create the truth.

[Natalie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book, but it was not to be. I think this book’s strong point is its ability to demonstrate character growth and transformation. However, I had to push myself to finish the story because of the lack of action. Thus the delicate balance of action and characterization was tipped.

Also, because of the action slump I found myself not caring to find out what happens to Patty; her life situation did not seem compelling. Last, some of Patty’s thoughts want to come across as witty and fresh, but I found them to be distracting and disruptive.

Two stars.

[Meghan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I actually enjoyed this book quite a bit, but I’m subtracting two stars for repeated fatphobia. I’ll give this author another try because this book was written awhile ago, so hopefully she’ll have grown since then.

[Emma Andje · Rating 3 out of 5]

*actual rating is 3.5 stars*

[kb · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was supposed to be a tide-me-over-my-reader's-block kind of read, but it turned to be better than expected. I always enjoy it whenever a story infuses itself with culture because I love exploring and understanding the gaps in the world, in general.

WHAT I LIKED about it is that it poses as a fun, light read but then again, it treads on self-identity, belongingness and acceptance, which, I believe, are most important in YA novels. I also enjoyed that the protagonist is biracial, giving me a peek into the struggles and the joys of being torn between two worlds.

[Taylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Will write more later, but books about second gen Hapa girls navigating their identity give me all the feelings.

[Drew · Rating 3 out of 5]

I actually really enjoyed this book, even though I didn’t think I would in the beginning. I had just read a really intense, heavy book and wanted something light and entertaining, and this one was definitely that, and one of my favorite books was written by the same author. So I figured, what the heck. While some parts might’ve felt “cringey”, the novel doesn’t take itself too seriously and I was able to sense the intended humor. Justina Chen Headley is insanely clever, and some spots made me actually, audibly laugh.

I wasn’t expecting the big conflict of the novel. I thought, as a fully white person, I wouldn’t be able to understand the nuance of being half Asian and half white, though this novel did offer me new perspectives I’ve never considered. What I could understand is the tumultuous relationship between mother and daughter, between the perceptions of each other and the truth. While the book had me laughing, it also had me tearing up. Plus, being that it was published in 2006, it brought me into a whole social and practical atmosphere I had never personally experienced. For example, the story is told around the medium of her “truth statement”, an essay for her English class. She asked her aunt to read it and “handed her the first page”. I was so confused, how do you hand her the first page on a lap top??? Then it occurred to me she wrote it by hand. Not computer.

This book was very charming and I enjoyed it like I enjoyed North of Beautiful, one of my aforementioned favorite novels. It does randomly say the full n-word at the end, though, not in a derogatory way of course, but it felt like it came out of no where and took me out of immersion.

[Allison · Rating 5 out of 5]

Let me tell you. This book have been sitting on my shelf for years. I finally finished it—in one day—and I wish I would have read it sooner.

This book is such an important young adult book. It discusses race, family relationships and identity. It's originally and brilliantly written.

Patty's voice shines throughout the whole novel, not just in the creative, witty way that she speaks, but in her personality and the confusion that comes with discovering who exactly she is.

I think this novel is brilliant, and I wish I had read it before I had the honor of meeting Justina Chen at an event last Spring so I could have had a deeper discussion about it. Very highly recommended!

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fast, easy read about a teenage girl, Patty Ho, raised by a single Taiwanese mother. After a 'belly button reader' reveals a relationship with a white man in her future, Patty's mother sends her to math camp for the summer. While at camp Patty has many revelations about herself and her family. It is a coming of age story with humor strung throughout to keep it a light easy read!

[S · Rating 4 out of 5]

a good story, and I learned interesting things about being chinese-american. Also nice personal growth, which is what adolescent novels are famous for.

[ash · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book made me smile like an idiot and laugh out loud. I thought it was gonna be another cheesy YA read - and it was - but I still enjoyed it.

[Keith Hunter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read it for class, and it was overall very interesting.

[Maya Miernik · Rating 5 out of 5]

So cute and realistic.

[Caitlin Waring]

Middle school Caitlin's favorite book

[Claire · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rather enjoyed this book, but it hasn't aged well. The Tiger Mom stereotype is very tired, even though she sort of tried to justify it. And there's some cultural essentialism in it that doesn't need to be. A book's politics need to survive longer than 15 years.

[Arminzerella · Rating 3 out of 5]

Patty Ho is a hapa (Taiwanese/Caucasian) teenager who is stuck in the middle of a very whitebread community. Her mother constantly lectures her – both wanting the best for her and wanting the best from her. Patty hates being mixed. She’s not white enough to be white, and she’s not Asian enough to be Asian, so she feels like she’s always on the fringe of things. Patty’s big plans for the summer include getting a summer job and drooling over a certain high school hottie she’s got a crush on. All of this changes when she sees Belly-button Grandma, a fortuneteller who can read her future – from her bellybutton. After that, Patty’s mother decides that the best place for Patty is Math camp at Stanford University – about the last thing on earth Patty wants to do.

Math camp turns out to be a really good place for Patty, though. She makes some new friends, gets to hobnob with other Asian students, and discovers that she’s considered quite attractive and exotic – outside her hometown. And before her mother shows up and mortifies her in public, Patty also has – for the very first time – a boyfriend. Turns out he’s not the one. But with her new self confidence, Patty’s able and eager to tell him off. She also uncovers some secrets about her family which help her understand her mother a lot better. All in all, Patty Ho makes a lot of progress for one teen over one summer.

This was a great coming into one’s own story. I’m happy to see “hapa” becoming a mainstream word to describe Asian/Caucasian mixes. There are lots of other books about the second generation – children of immigrant parents – and how their experience of being American is different from their parents,’ but this one was particularly humorous and engaging. There are plenty of amusing moments here where Patty just has to endure whatever lesson her mother is trying to pound into her brain. For instance, there are several installments of the “Mama Lecture Series,” which all begin with a summary of this genre of lecture, with specifics that follow.

“The Mama Lecture Series
“Lecture 1: You Have It So Easy

“Greetings and welcome to The Mama Lecture Series, brought to you by the first-generation Mamas who left the Old Country for Brand-New America. But first, a message from our proud sponsors. While audience participation, such as talking back, is forbidden, tears of guilt and effusive apologies are more than welcome. Please be advised that there is no need for copious note-taking. These lectures are freely given at every possible opportunity. And we do mean, Every. Possible. Opportunity. Thank you so much and enjoy the show.

“’You have it so easy,’ Mama repeats, jabbing her chopsticks in the air at me with each point she makes, not caring that her voice is escalating or that everyone in the restaurant is watching. ‘Whenever you want something, you hold your hand out. You need a new book? I give it to you.’ Jab. ‘You need, you need. When I was little, we so poor even though my father was dentist. But who could pay him? Not with money…’” and so on (p.12)

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had the chance to talk to Justina Chen Headley briefly before she gave a reading from Nothing But the Truth (and a Few White Lies). She was very cool, grounded and an absolute pleasure to talk to. So, it should be no surprise that her narrator, Patty Ho, is equally enjoyable in every way in Headley's first novel written for young adults.

Half-Taiwanese and half-white, Patty feels like she doesn't belong anywhere. This fact is confirmed when, instead of going to the last school dance of the year, Patty's mother drags her to a fortune teller who discerns Patty's future from her belly button. Things get worse from there when Patty realizes that sometimes dream guys are anything but and finds herself enrolled in Stanford math camp for the summer.

This novel is a classic coming-of-age story. As the plot progresses, Patty learns that sometimes you have to find people like you in order to appreciate the value of being really unique. Now, that might sound a bit pat and cliche--but I can assure you this book is anything but.

Headley writes with a style unlike any authors I've read recently. The narration is snappy and spunky--as is fitting for a teenage girl as vibrant as Patty. I also like that Headley doesn't take the easy way a lot of the time. The story doesn't follow any typical girl-meets-boy formula. In fact, Headley has quite a few twists thrown in along the way.

It's also really interesting to read about Patty and her mother. The subject doesn't often come up in teen literature, where often the characters are immigrants if they are not white. Headley's dialog between Patty and her mother seems realistic (not being Taiwanese at all I can't really say). Her incorporation of slang and certain speech mannerisms bring to mind Amy Tan's writing in The Hundred Secret Senses (another book about a half-asian, half-white character, incidentally). Honestly though, everything in the book is interesting. Even math camp, which some readers will view as warily as Patty does in the beginning, turns out to be a cool environment to read about (with minimal time spent on math in the narrative).

In a lot of reviews you'll see me complaining that the characters come off as flat. Happily, I can say that is not the case here. Patty and her myriad friends (and enemies too) jump off the page. Furthermore, Headley artfully negotiates Patty's changing sense of self throughout the novel.

It's weird to be saying this about a novel that isn't a thriller, but it was really a page turner. I couldn't put it down. Headley has a lot to say here about identity and family and self-confidence. All of which she manages like a pro.

The term "new classic" is bandied about a lot for modern books and movies. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that Nothing But the Truth is going to get that label if it doesn't have it already.

[Ridwana · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is probably one of the only books where I am actually so happy that the girl breaks up with the semi-cool half male-protagonist (SPOILER START) until the end (SPOILER END) but not really.

God, I frickin' hate Stu.
I never even liked him, really.

But Brian. GOD I LOVE BRIAN SO FRIGGIN MUCH IT'S NOT EVEN FUNNY. HE'S, LIKE, THE PERFECT OLDER BROTHER THOUGH HE'S NOT PATTY'S OLDER BROTHER BUT HE KIND OF IS BECAUSE HE IS SO GREAT.

So this is by the author of North of Beautiful and it's basically about a hapa girl (as in half-Asian half-white) and she looks more American then white but not white enough for the douchebag bully at her school. And it's about fitting in and that stuff. She gets her future read by a belly-button reader (I know, right?) and the woman says that she sees a romance with a white guy in Patty's future. So her mom freaks out and forces her to attend summer math camp at Stanford. At first she doesn't want to go, but she does anyway and shit goes down and then her mom blows up again.

Let's talk about Jasmine.

She reminds me of Isabelle Lightwood. A more mundane version of her: badass, sexy, friggin' awesomesauce. And I LOVE IT. And I like how Chen doesn't make Patty perfect in any way at all. She's really tall, runs, and doesn't have many friends.

BUT BRIAN. DUDE. I LOVE HIM SO MUCH IT'S NOT EVEN FUNNY. I SQUEALED SO HARD WHEN HE FOUND HER RUNNING AWAY FROM THE COP AND TOOK HER IN TO TALK EVEN THOUGH IT'S A TOTALLY PLATONIC RELATIONSHIP AND I KNOW THERE IS NOTHING GOING ON THERE (thank god, there isn't.) BUT HE IS JUST TOO ADORABLE AND I LOVE THEIR RELATIONSHIP SO MUCH AND I JUST. GAH.

And Auntie Lu is basically my aunt with her hoarding stuff and all and Uncle Vic is probably one of the greatest fictional uncles I have ever met/read about.

But what bothered me on so many different levels was how Patty just stood there taking all the BS from her mom. Like I know that part of the "lesson" or whatever of the story is that her mom was doing what she thought was best and none of it was her fault, but I was still really pissed about her mom in the beginning. If Patty had just spoken up and talked back to her mother, so many of those stupid events WOULDN'T. HAVE. TAKEN. PLACE. And the entire way through I was so exasperated because even I wouldn't have put up with that much crap. Seriously. God.

And I think that's part of the reason for why I'm giving this three stars, which is much less compared to the four stars I gave North of Beautiful. Which I liked a bit better, by the way.

Butsoyeah.

Kate (was it Kate or Katie? I'm forgetting already) was a beotch.

[Jennifer Wardrip · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reviewed by Me for TeensReadToo.com

If Patricia "Patty" Yi-Phen Ho had just one wish, she knows exactly what it would be. To be white. Full-out, red-white-and-blue, all-American, totally Caucasian white. Not the half-and-half mixture that she is now, with an overbearing Taiwanese mother and a long-gone Caucasian father. Not an Amazon-tall mishmash of ancestries that leave her looking like an overgrown Asian teenager or a really tanned white one. Just plain old, blend-into-the-crowd white.

When her mom drags her to a fortune-teller who gets her information from your bellybutton rather than a crystal ball, Patty knows she's in trouble. The "you're going to have three children" prediction is a little ludicrous, given the fact she can't even get a boyfriend. But what really freaks her out--not to mention sends her mother into a fit of unintelligible Taiwanese--is the fact that, according to bellybutton lady, Patty is destined to end up with a white guy.

For Patty, that works just fine. For her mother, not so good. If her mom had her way, Patty would never get within twenty feet of a white guy, never mind date one. No, her mom wants what she didn't get herself--a marriage to a nice, respectable, rich Taiwanese doctor. Or, if there are no doctors available, a businessman would be acceptable. Never mind what Patty wants, which at this moment is knowing if the hottest guy at school, Mark Scranton, will ever notice her.

Stunned into yet more lectures about life as a poor Taiwanese girl, Patty's mother decides that this summer, instead of lounging around and possibly getting a part-time job, Patty will attend math camp at Stanford. Since her older brother, Abe, is busy "preparing" for his upcoming attendance at Harvard, he's no help to get her out of this bind. So Patty sets off to camp, resigned to hanging out with geeks.

Except math camp turns out to be not as bad as she'd thought. There's some really good-looking guys there, guys with brains. Like Stu, who blesses her with her first kiss. And might possibly end up breaking her heart. For Patty, this summer could end up teaching her a whole lot more than math. Things like what it's like to really be American, and learning to love who you are. Because there are guys out there who can love a hapa girl for who she is--if she'll just learn to love herself first.

NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH is a great read for anyone who has ever had trouble discovering their identity, or for someone looking to find out how it feels to be different. A real winner!

[Jacqueline · Rating 3 out of 5]

I always think it is interesting how themes seem to repeat over and over in books that I read close together even if I have selected them completely at random.

I read this book following Sprout by Daniel Peck. Although it wasn't "blow me out of the water" good like Sprout, this book's continuation of the theme of finding out the truth about oneself, and the use of essay in both plots to further that theme, seemed almost more than coincidence, and greatly increased my enjoyment of this novel.

Patty Ho is a Taiwanese-American girl with a strict mother, a brain full of smarts that she doesn't always consider an asset, and neither her white nor her Asian friends seem to understand what it is like to be her.

Facing the possibility of a summer at Math Camp with a bunch of math geeks and an estranged aunt as her only companions, Patty feels that life really couldn't get any worse. The plot follows in a typical teen angst filled way with plenty of downs and a few ups to keep you reading.

What makes this book better than the typical teen novel? First Patty is a well developed, likable character. Second, anyone can relate to the themes of personal growth and people not quite being who they appear to be on the surface.

The book had a few flaws though. Patty's good friends, those who are Caucasian along with their parents, show a lot racist words and behaviors even though they are supposedly Patty's friends. Patty never says anything to them about it either out loud or in her thoughts as they are portrayed in the book. It didn't come across as real to me. Also, everything is just a little to perfect. One of the themes was that people are not necessarily how they appear on the surface, which is a great theme, but in real life, most people are at least somewhat like they appear on the surface, and it tends to take a long time for people to change or to open up about their secrets. I realize that the author wanted situations that carried along the theme and that since the novel only took place over a few months,the show of personal development needed to be sped up, but I think she went overboard. It would have been more realistic if there were a few more consistent characters and a slow down to the growth.

All in all, I think this is a good book for those who like teen novels and recommend it as such.

[Samantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

The main character in this novel was Patty Ho, a half Caucasian, half Taiwanese fifteen year old girl. I could relate to her, being bi-racial myself, and understand how she felt confused and out of place. Patty isn't comfortable in her own skin, because she doesn't fit in with the Asians and she sticks out like a sore thumb in her mostly white populated high school. Her mother is strict, favoring her older brother, Abe, who is headed for Harvard University. Her friends don't understand the weird "Chinesey" parts of her life and she got an Incomplete on her truth statement for Honors English. A racist student at her school harasses her and she misses her school dance when her mother takes her to get her fortune read- via her bellybutton. Her mother is upset when the fortune teller predicts that Patty will date a white guy, her mother's greatest fear. So it's like a blessing and a curse when Patty gets to escape her problems at home by going to math camp at Stanford University. But still, she doesn't want to be good at math and fall into the Asian genius category and she definitely doesn't want to spend a month hanging out with geeks. Soon, Patty actually finds that she likes camp and life for her starts looking up. Justina Chen Headley's voice was funny and honest, and the reader was inside Patty's head, hearing the thoughts she wasn't brave enough to say out loud. For awhile there I thought this novel was your typical YA comedy/romance novel, entertaining but bordering on mediocre. But the twists towards the end proved me wrong. There were some good lessons here, if somewhat dumbed down by Patty's dry humor. This was a novel of one relatable, likable heroine finding her niche in life and crossing racial barriers. While not all the elements of the story were original, Headley's voice was fresh and funny. Nothing but the Truth (and a few white lies) left me with a satisfying ending and a desire to read more by this author.

[Ms. B · Rating 4 out of 5]

When a fortune-telling granny sees a white guy in Patty’s future, her overbearing Taiwanese mama has a few ideas for reversing the prediction: Patty will eat stinky tonic soup for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Patty will attend math camp this summer. Patty will meet a Nice (Taiwanese) Boy.

Never mind that Patty is half white herself. But Mama considers marrying Patty’s dad the one mistake she ever made, and she’ll do anything to keep her daughter from repeating it. So as Patty’s white girlfriends look forward to a summer of fun, she heads off to Stanford for what is sure to be a month of torturous Asian geekery.

To her surprise, some of the kids at math camp are actually cool, and she might even have a chance with Chinese hunk Stu. Things are looking up for this banana-split girl—but in order to feel truly whole, she’ll have to learn the truth about herself and her family.

This is, first and foremost, a novel about the search for identity. Patty doesn’t remember her father, but with her long legs and big eyes, sometimes she feels like she has more in common with him than her Mama and older brother. And that’s hard to reconcile with the jerks at school who call her “Chopsticks.”

Despite some painful moments, the story is carried by Patty’s humor and insight. (On Chinese foot-binding practices, she thinks: “Chastity belts for feet. If you can’t walk, you’re not likely to sneak out in the middle of the night, say to kiss a secret lover in the Quad.”) Any girl struggling to figure out who she really is will find the real deal in Nothing but the Truth.

(Review from http://readingbee.wordpress.com)

[Laura Martinelli · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wow, this was a fast read. A good one, but I honestly wasn’t expecting to be done that quickly. (And I’m normally a quick reader to begin with.)

I did have fun reading this, and it’s a very light read compared to Girl Overboard. Patty’s self-identity crisis is far different from Syrah’s, and I like that this really touches more on cultural identity. Patty’s not only described as being physically awkward, but also emotionally awkward. It makes her feel a little more grounded. I liked that she has trouble relating to her friends and the other kids at her school, and a large part of that is because she’s half-Asian. I liked her budding friendships with Anne and Jasmine, especially since the focus is on more their support for each other. I also really liked how Patty began to open up to her mother, after finding out the truth about her father.

That said, a lot of the book feels underdeveloped. After the revelation about Patty’s father, the rest of the plot clips by at an extremely fast pace. There’s several other plot developments, but they’re only touched on and never given full details. I wanted to know more about why Patty likes making up new words, I wanted more of her relationship with her Aunt Lu, I wanted to see her adjust more to math camp—there’s a lot that really doesn’t get developed. The book feels like it’s the first half of another book, aside from the last chapter. It really could have been a lot longer, and it feels like there’s a lot more to the story here.

It’s not a bad book, as I did enjoy reading it. It just feels like that it’s not as fleshed out.

[Steph | bookedinsaigon · Rating 2 out of 5]

Half-white, half-Asian Patty Ho has never felt complete. Her white friends always joke about her crazy Taiwanese mother's ways, and Patty shuns the company of the goodie-goodie Anne Wong, the only other Asian girl at her school. But worst of all in Patty's life is her mother, who's a five-foot-tall, traditional, wary, embarrassing Mom-inator, complete with foreign accent. Mom's worst regret is her marriage with the father of Patty and her older brother Abe (oh, did we mention that beloved Abe is going to Harvard?). He disappeared mysteriously when Patty was 2, and no one ever talks about him.

When a bellybutton fortune reading reveals that Patty will marry a white man, her mother freaks out and ships her off to math camp at Stanford along with Anne. But Palo Alto, California is a lot different than Washington State. There a millions of Asian guys (which ought to make Patty's mom happy, as she wants her daughter to marry a rich Taiwanese man). There's Stu, for example, who's hot, Chinese, AND thinks hapas are cute. And Patty is slowly beginning to learn to love being "the best of both worlds."

Of course, there's still her crazy worrywart mother to ruin her summer... but what turns out to be heartbreak and humiliation may reveal clues about her mother's past that Patty never knew.

Justina Chen Headley takes readers through every aspect of Patty's emotional understanding of herself. With plenty of self-deprecating humor and Asian references, this book accurately depicts the confusing life of a hapa, and how she learns to love herself for who she is... no lies.

[Maggie Lin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Somewhat relatable but it’s alright
3.4/5

[Kimberly Hirsh · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great strength of Nothing But the Truth is the interaction of its female characters. Patty, our protagonist, is at the heart of the story, but we see how the other girls and women in her life help her grow and change. When we discover why Patty's mother is the way she is, for us as much as for Patty, life takes on new levels. When Jasmine pushes Patty outside her comfort zone, we wonder what exciting opportunities may lie outside our own. And what is most reassuring is that after this transformative summer, Patty hasn't had to give up any of her former self; she's only added new dimensions.

In Nothing But the Truth (and a few white lies), we see how a girl can grow and change and find out who she is, without losing a sense of who she was. We can be in the present, look to the future, and remember the past. And I think Patty's most important discovery, and mine too in reading this book, is that the events that shape us do just that - they shape who we are and what we become. But they don't determine it. That's up to us.