TW: assault, victim-blaming, rape, abortion

My Whole Truth tells Seelie's story. It starts in a very brutal scene where we understand that she just had to fight for her life and was left injured and bleeding.
Quickly, we figure out that she killed whoever assaulted her.
She succeeds in calling for help and is sent to the hospital.
But, somehow, that's only the start of the nightmare she's going to be living.

I think the discussed themes are very important and I'm glad they're being talked about more and more.
I really really liked this book.
It made me mad as hell and I was mostly raging throughout the whole book but Seelie was endearing even though we knew she was hiding something from us, she wasn't telling us, the readers, everything. I really felt for her.
I found the characters well developed and interesting, with real depth.
The relationships between Seelie and her friends were very interesting too, so were her relationships with all the adults from the book.
My anger mostly came from how unfairly Seelie was treated at school but also at home and even in public.
The plot was, I think, well written and even if it might have been unbelievable to some, it wasn't to me. I honestly think that in our current society, things like this could happen, that it does happen.
I seriously could not put the book down, it really kept me on my toes, I really needed to know how it ended.

All in all, a captivating and important debut novel. Which means another author to keep track of!

BE AWARE OF THE TRIGGERS, because there are quite a few and I'm mentioning them in my review too. Another thing I'm mentioning right now is that this is the story of a survivor, written by a survivor and this review is also written by a survivor. Had to be said.

I started reading this novel about an hour before bed time and I ended up going to sleep.. three hours late and halfway through My Whole Truth. I couldn't stop reading at all. I tried, honestly. But I just couldn't fall asleep because I had to know what happened next. That rarely happens!

The story starts right after Seelie, our main character, escaped her attacker by hitting him on the head with a mallet. After that, everything spirals out of control. She ends up in the hospital, telling half-truths and not admitting to anyone - even herself - what exactly happened. I needed to know what had happened to her. You immediately get an idea of what could've gone down - being sexual assault - but in a way, you keep second-guessing it because some things just.. didn't add up for me. I was intrigued and curious to see what had taken place.

That curiosity is what you need in a mystery novel like this one. If you're not curious about the outcome, or about what exactly happened in the past, the book's not well-written and this one is. The fast pace, the little snippets of information you get, the problems and situations Seelie has to face: it all works perfectly and kept a hold on me throughout the entire book.

Another aspect I really liked is how Mischa gave Seelie the perfect support system. Even though they don't know everything that happened, you can see and feel how her friends want to help her through anything coming her way.
Her friends - which she calls "the faction", consists of three unique characters. Each has their own characteristics, beliefs and pasts, which are shown throughout the novel. They do struggle with each other, but what friends don't? It made their friendship all the more real to me. And that's not even mentioning the slow burn f/f romance. It feels absolutely perfect since Seelie definitely has plenty on her plate and the focus should not be on romance. I loved how the author knew this and let their relationship grow accordingly.

HUGE SPOILER IN NEXT PART. SKIP TO NEXT PARAGRAPH IF YOU DON'T WANT TO READ ABOUT IMPORTANT TRIGGER WARNINGS.

I already mentioned one huge trigger, sexual assault, but there are more. They're at the top of my review, but I do feel like pointing them out again because they are important. They're huge triggers for a lot of people. Victim-blaming, mental health, bullying, murder, mention of drug-dealing and the biggest one of all - abortion. I didn't know about any of these triggers going in and, for once, I honestly didn't mind. I saw most things coming. Even though it wasn't easy reading about certain subjects - I already wrote a post on my blog in the past regarding the sexual assault I survived - and my pregnant state on top of that, I still feel this story was worth reading.
On one hand, I'd like to go further into the one trigger I left in white, but.. let's keep it at "people can view this part of the book differently since it has a lot to do with one's own principles, beliefs and past." I believe it has to be present in the book, I can see why others would think differently but this is my review.

There was only one thing annoying me somewhat and that's Seelie's relationship with her mom. To say it's strained is a definite understatement. There isn't much love lost between those two and.. of course, that's entirely possible. What annoyed me is how we never get a decent explanation as to why this is the case. Why do they pretty much hate each other? Why is their relationship the way it is? What happened exactly to ruin a mother-daughter bond so thoroughly? There are some vague hints given but.. It wasn't enough to satisfy my curiosity.

I can only conclude that this is a book worth reading. It's the story of a survivor, written by a survivor. Stories like this one are important, worth sharing and I'm so, so happy to find this book one I can absolutely agree with. Yes, I'm ordering myself a finished copy. I need this on my shelves.

4.5/5

This was certainly a lot darker than I expected it to be. The very opening of the book is a 911 call from the protagonist Seelie after being attacked and even from there, life only goes downhill for her. The book had me hooked from the first sentence and I couldn't put it down. I sped through it in about 5 hours and loved reading it so much! The book has a great (albeit slightly predictable) plot and the writing was truly stunning and captivating.

Not for me, could not get into it or finish, will let the members of Chapter Chatter Pub know about the release and use in a daily challenge though.

This book begun with the line "The air is dead with the stench of blood. Mine. His." and that line in itself had me gripped to the story. My heart was breaking for Seelie; she is arrested and put on trial where she is made out to be a murderer, when in fact what she did was in self-defense, and to keep herself alive. This book handles victim blaming perfectly (unlike another book I recently read) and even though she is terrorised by her high school peers and branded a murderer, she has friends who stick by her and she is given a fair trial.

It is clear from the beginning that she does not have much of a relationship with her mum, which from what I gather is because of a mix of her mum never really seeming to be there for her, which isn't helped by her father dying previous to the events of the book. She also doesn't have many friends, but the three friends she does have are fiercely loyal and are there for her through the entire process of the trial.

Some of the subjects brought up in the story are quite dark for a YA novel but the way the author has written them is perfect. A little over half way through there is something revealed, which I had an inkling about, and that, as well as the whole court proceedings show how much time the author put into researching before writing this book. The ending had me crying and I'm so glad I read this book. The release date (according to Amazon) in the UK for this is 2nd October for Kindle format, and 1st November for paperback - I highly recommend this book!

This book is just so good. It has that special voice that YA books are made great by—somewhere between wide-eyed innocence and invincibility, but not naïveté. The characters are a little rough around the edges and are at that age where the world still shapes them, but they’re coming to the realization that they can shape the world as well. These characters are relatable and able to make you enjoy a story that is far too realistic than anyone wants to realize. This story makes you feel the anger and sadness you should, but it also makes it impossible for you not to smile as well. This book could have dove deeper into all of the topics of the storyline, but it wouldn’t have been YA anymore. The story is just right in its style for this genre and still manages to convey so many great lessons for young people, and old alike. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and fell in love with the faction!

This book was a great, shortish read. It really gripped me and I read it in one sitting. The characters were realistic and had a good amount of depth as well as personality. I found the last couple of chapters slightly rushed and I would have welcomed more details on the court case but as this is a book aimed at younger readers, this was appropriate and understandable. By the end of the booking I was firmly rooting for Seelie and I loved the ending!

This was an intense story that had me turning the pages as fast as I could. I read it in a day! The story begins with a violent crime that Seelie gets charged with, even though she was acting in self defense. It happens at the stables she works at, with the basketball star from her school.

Seelie is a tough, independent seventeen year old, just trying to survive high school when this turns her entire world upside down. With all that she is going through in the story I kept thinking, I would not be able to be as strong.

I really admired her strength in the story and the relationship she had with her three friends. Seelie isn’t the popular girl in school, but instead has a small group of friends that are basically her entire support system.

Once she is released on bail with an ankle bracelet she has to continue attending her small town high school where she is anything but popular. High school is hard enough, but when your charged with murdering the basketball star from your school? It’s beyond imaginable.

This was a powerful story and a quick YA read, I definitely enjoyed it!

My Whole Truth by Mischa Thrace

This is a story about a young girl named Seelie Stanton who called 911 from a horse barn and informed the police that she had been attacked by Shane Mayfield. She stated that she hit him with a mallet also. The issue now is Shane is found dead and his father is a judge. So now Seelie is accused of murder. Seelie has a group of friends that call themselves the faction and they are with her through everything. The only thing is, did Seelie tell the whole truth? The reader will find out the answer and it is not exactly what you expected. The writer does a great job with the characters and the flaws that make them real. You will want to beat Seelie by the time it is through but she is a teenager. I recommend this book highly.

Thank you to netgalley as well as the author for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

5 stars ⭐️ out of 5

I'm between 3.5 and 4 out of 5 stars on this story. I will have a full review posted closer to the publishing date on site and all other sits listed on here (plus I JUST -as in today- built a facebook page for Novellives.com- depending on if its ready- it'll post there as well)

Overall I thought it was an excellent book. The writing was fantastic. I really had fallen into a rut of surface, lazy writing when it came to fiction young adult books that were fantasy. This broke me out of that mold (thank you). As you know from twitter, I loved the dedication and the book definitely stayed true to that.

The one thing that really stuck in my side that is making me think on the star review is the mom. I just. She's so stereotypical of the rich working mom. I know they exist. I'm thankful mine wasn't one but still. Even in writing a parental archetype that exists, I feel like it could've been done in a way that wasn't quite so over the type that she ends up taking away from what otherwise is such an excellent story arch and book. It is easy to see why Seely would feel the fear of what she did and blame herself with a mother like she has. There was no reason to play it over-the-top. Trust your readers to get it without making it that obvious.


You have the writing chops to do it with a subtle nastiness that would have kept the consistency of the edginess this book embeds. Otherwise it is an amazing and brilliant debut. I am going to let it settle a bit, go back through it and write up my full review closer to the publishing date and then donate the book to the library.

Thank you again for sending the hard copy arc! It was a huge huge help! I was able to write a blog read a whole book and then read 1/2 of My Whole Truth in one day- finish it the next and write down my notes for this part of my initial thoughts without all the undue side effects. That is so much more me as a reader/writer. And it helps so much of my stress/anxiety/add. THANK YOU!

Please feel free to ask any questions you might have in the meantime!

I love these kinds of stories, of morally grey characters and stories where lines are blurred. I loved that we had LGBT rep and a look into a definitely interesting, diverse character. And her fears? I felt that.

I must say that I felt a bit of disconnect from her family and peers but considering it was focused more on the case of the murder and what had gone down, I suppose there was a valid excuse. Seelie, while an obviously odd name at that, was a character who I got to know quite well in these pages. Compared to other stories we spent a lot of time in her head and seeing her reactions to the events that unfold. Towards the end, I knew the character pretty well.

I definitely recommend this book to people looking for a good thrill. There are the gruesome parts and the sticky madness that you really feel a grip for. I am so glad I requested this!

Okay this book was awesome! This is actually the first book that I have read (and I have many) that had me glued from the first page until the last. The only thing that turned of off about thus book was the abuse and bullying. I love how the three friends ALyssa, finn and ashlyn showed their loyatly and they were always their for cecila. Overall! Good book!

I had pretty low expectations going into this one, but I ended up LOVING it. It's always super refreshing to see a queer relationship (or a queer person at all) in a non contemporary book, especially it being F/F. This book was extraordinary thrilling as we followed the trail following the main character's attack, and give a perspective not often brought to light.

I am going to give this 4 stars though because I had issues with how the love interest crossed a few boundaries towards the end.

This is definitely a book that I won't forget in the near future.

A tale of two halves. Guilty or Innocent? That's the premise of this hard hitting novel.
Seelie is just your average teenager and in a moment, her whole life changes.
She killed a boy in order to save herself, but will it be this decision that ultimately causes her demise?

My Whole Truth is a psychological, contemporary novel that both intrigues and shocks.



Overall, I enjoyed the premise of the book and upon reading the blurb felt it had a lot of potential.
I loved the diversity in the book, Thrace managed to cover a LOT, from a lesbian relationship, gay parents, religion, and sexual assault (to name a few). I did however, find that because there was so much crammed in, each subject wasn't explored as thoroughly as they could be which left me wanting more. Quality over Quantity comes to mind with this book.
I was also really confused with Seelies relationship with her mum. I wish there was more back story.. why didn't they have a good relationship? Was there relationship always like this? So many unanswered questions! It also bugged me how Seelie never even gave her mum a chance, and shot her down at every single opportunity without even giving her a chance. Again, I think if there was more of a backstory or explanation maybe this wouldn't have irked me so much.
Saying this, I really enjoyed the relationships Seelie had with "the faction". They seemed to take the place of her family and lots of issues were raised within the group. I felt because so much was going on, and so there were so many subplots, that it all seemed a bit underdeveloped, and a lot of it had no relevance to the main story either.
My biggest issue with this novel were the technical inaccuracies. So many issues with the portrayal of the police, how they dealt with the case and questions that were never asked (which would never happen in real life, and I feel it painted the police in a bad way). Also, what type of murder case only lasts one day in court?? Completely unrealistic.

Saying this, I did actually enjoy the story as a whole, and it definitely kept me reading. I think it just needed to focus on less subplots, and fill out the main plots and characters instead.

My Whole Truth is absolutely stunning. The novel drops you right into it’s premise, as it follows Seelie, a 17 year old girl who is attacked by a boy who goes to her school. It’s completely gripping, even more so when it develops into a victim who is demonised for her actions caused by her instinct to survive.

It’s a tough book, there are no two ways about it, especially when Seelie is bullied by almost everyone in her life as a cause of what someone else has done to her. It’s not all doom and gloom though, as My Whole Truth showcases a wonderful central friendship that is able to tough out everything that is thrown at it.

I really felt for Seelie and she was a wonderful protagonist. The only qualm I have is that the trial section was unbelievably short and somewhat rushed, but the journey there made this almost worth it.

My Whole True is an excellent book and I urge anyone and everyone to read it.

I enjoy reading a really good YA book every now and then and this book did not disappoint. Cecelia "Seelie" Stanton was attacked in the hayloft of the barn where she was taking care of the horses. Seelie ended up killing Shane Mayfield, a known drug user and a bully. Seelie received serious injuries during the attack and was subsequently arrested and charged with murder. Seeley and her 3 friends who refer to themselves as "The Faction" and are a very strange bunch of characters. All of the characters with the exception of Cara, Seeley's lawyer, are very unlikable. Even with all the unlikable characters, this was a fast-paced easy read and I really enjoyed. At the end of the book, I still did not like any of the characters except for Cara.

"My Whole Truth" is quite the rollercoaster. The main character takes us on one bumpy ride through one of the most hellish things that could happen to someone.

Told from the view of 17 year old Seelie, the book starts with her calling 911 after being attacked by, and subsequently killing, a 20 year old former classmate while at work one day. Her attacker was Shane Mayfield, the brother of one of her classmates and son of a local judge.
The book deals with the aftermath of Seelie defending herself and is left in the difficult position of having to convince the small town she grew up in and the legal system that she was defending herself from an attack.

I love that the book started after the attack, and that things are slowly revealed.

Seelie's friendship with her group of friends, calling themselves "The Faction' was really great to read.

Overall a decent book.

Seelie, a seventeen year old, is brutally attacked by twenty-one year old Shane and she kills him in, what she believes, self-defense. At least until she is arrested for his murder.

The book begins with a ton of suspense, but kind of fizzles out, at least for me. Seelie is not very well developed as is her poor relationship with her mother, which is a recurring theme in the book. I didn't feel as though most of the story was realistic and it really hurt my view of the book.

I really enjoyed this YA novel written about a 17 year old girl who was attacked and killed her attacker. Given the status of her attacker (popular kid) and his dad is a Judge, we see Seelie put through the ringer as she is tried for murder as opposed to self defence, what an emotional rollercoaster, fast paced full of twists and turns, I’m still thinking about it.

Many thanks to Netgalley and North Star Editions for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

Featuring themes of physical violence, sexual assault, victim blaming, absentee parenting, crooked politicians/cops, and more, this book is a difficult and emotional read. But it is absolutely true to this day in age, and I could see everything that happened happening right now. A teen is attacked, and in defending herself, kills her attacker. The only problem is that her attacker happened to be the son of a prominent local judge. Her troubles get worse from there as she's arrested for murder and the whole town seems to turn on her. Thrace is a excellent writer, weaving twists and turns into the story. Highly recommended if you can handle the frustration and details of the assault and the attack.