The complexity of the story and the psychological implications of friendship was beautifully written and holds true. In each character, a reader could certainly identify with the struggles and emotions of holding it together even when relationships and children are taxing. I really enjoyed the container theory. Very well done.

Discover new BFF’s as you meet Tess, Allie, Megan and Zoe. Navigate the twists and turns of life, love and friendship as the pages turn and the joys and stressors of each. This book will having you laughing, crying and wanting more

The Truth is a Theory follows Allie Sexton, her three best friends Zoe, Tess and Megan and her decades long romance to Dana. Each chapter begins in present day as Allie struggles to navigate her broken marriage, two children and lifelong feelings of pain and despair by a mother that left behind their family many years ago. As each chapter advances, readers are plunged into the past and a deeply moving story of friendships, careers, illness and romance that evolves as the characters age. At times, the story could be confusing as readers struggle to understand all the characters, but I found them to be all relatable, honest and artfully written. While the present day story/journal entries were, at times, long winded and complicated they were wonderful beautiful complex and accurate descriptions of what women, wives and mothers deal with on a regular basis. The Truth is a Theory was much more than I anticipated and I found myself disappointed when it ended, as I had grown to really care about these four women. I highly recommend this as your next summer read or book club pick!

A sincere thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Four college girls become life-long friends in spite of, or because of, their differences in life experiences.

Supporting each other through dating, marriages, careers, children and all of the ups and downs of life provided the foundation for this novel.

A very emotionally stretching story.

I did get a bit bored at times but overall it was a good story. bouncing between the late 1980s and 2000-01.

This book alternated back and forth which was easy to follow. I just didn’t care about their college days too much. I thought the rest of the book was a bit more interesting. Thanks to Netgalley for the early copy

I really enjoyed this book. I thought that there was good character development, the different POV's kept it interesting, the different themes, perception, memory, how the past can shape us, the up's and downs of married life and friendship. it was all there and very well written.

Love is an incredible feeling, but it's one of many, and marriage is the container for them all.

The Truth is a Theory is a deeply introspective glimpse at the lives of four college friends: Allie, Megan, Zoe, and Tess. Beginning in the mid-80s, and working it's way to 2001, we slowly learn about each woman's successes and failures, trials and tribulations.

The character development was on point...at times, I found them all relatable. In fact, I frequently felt as though I was reading about my own friends. Unfortunately, the timeline is quite wonky and occasionally confusing. There are multiple points of view, sometimes crammed into one chapter. Spaced between these chapters are Allie's journal entries, which frankly, felt more like excerpts from college research papers. She was clearly searching for her version of the truth, but it all felt so clinical and dry. Honestly, I could have done without the journal entries.

Karyn Bristol, the author, definitely doesn't shy away from the realities of marriage and parenthood. She dives right in and paints a very authentic picture. While I'm not sure I'd want to read something so gritty at the beach, I do think this would work beautifully as a book club pick.

3.5 stars rounded down

Many thanks to NetGalley, Wooden Dock Press, and Karyn Bristol for the ARC.

I could not get into this book...I kept trying but was unsuccessful. It’s the story of four friends
Who meet in college and their trials and friendships. I really didn’t care what happened to the characters and no matter how hard I tried I could not make myself become invested in any of them.

This is a captivating story of the lives of four girls who meet in college. The author takes on a journey experiencing each girl’s trials and tribulations as they progress into and through adulthood. But, this crafty author does more than just tell a story, she makes it become a very introspective experience.

Each of the four girls has issues that affect how they live and love. It is a self-discovery process for each of them and not only are we along for the ride, but we find ourselves making some reflections and self-discoveries too.

The girls will have to discover that to be truly loved they need to trust others. Even when it means to show their weaknesses and offer up their vulnerable hearts and insecurities.

“The sad irony is that yes, a deep moat around your heart keeps you safe, but it also keeps you alone.”

The author doesn’t shy away from the realities of life or marriage. And forces us to face the truths in the reality of everyday nitty gritty. She shows us how quickly relationships lose communication and fall into patterns of only discussing the mundane and surface issues, demonstrating how easily space can widen over the years creating deep gulfs in relationships. But the author also shows us that with love, determination, and solid friendships life can be exceptional.

I enjoyed the journey this book provided. I appreciated that the author gave us characters with strength. It’s so easy to give up and many of us do. But her characters didn’t give up, they fought for what they loved. They made us realize that there is beauty and strength in being vulnerable. This is a well written story I highly recommend.

The novel spans the college life of 4 friends and the men who become their husbands and lovers. This very tightly knit group lives and loves together beyond school. Each woman has her own secret and pursues multiple relationships and friendships, betrayals and reconciliations, while wrestling with her secret.

I was not engrossed by the writing or the characters. They seemed superficial and frivilous to me, in their words, actions, and banter. The main protagonist is the narrator, who alternates between current day where she is a grown mother whose husband (boyfriend in college) has just left her, and then backtracks recalling incidents from their college days together. There was little continuity in this plot device in this book, although often this type of this can be quite effective in embellishing a story.

The Truth is a Theory by Karyn Bristol is about four friends, Allie, Megan, Tess and Zoe. It follows them from late high school through their mid-adult years. Quick and easy read. I enjoyed it.

Having a core group of friends can be a great thing. You already know each other's histories, so you don't have to explain yourself. But it's also true that we only ever let other people know what we want them to. The Truth is a Theory by Karyn Bristol weaves together the stories of four women who met at college and their husbands/ boyfriends. There are laughter, tears and betrayals, but the bonds of friendship don't break even when they are stretched to their limits.

Thanks, NetGalley for introducing me to yet another author and allowing me the opportunity to read her work.

The story starts by telling us about a child, a four-year-old, middle child, the only daughter who has an older brother Peter and a younger one named Kevin, they call her Allie. Allie has a love of TV doesn't matter if the sound is turn on, just needs to have that box on with the lights and pictures going at all times it keeps her company and makes her feel safe, but mostly not alone. You see her mother left her and her brothers, about her memories, her interactions with others that have consequences of their own when you have the TV as a sitter. We follow Allie through her College days her relationships with her roommate and the love of her life, Dana. We see that she has abandonment issues and her memories are not necessarily the truth, but her truth.

Seriously could not get into this book. The fount it was typed in was distracting for one thing. The rambling of the words another.

This is a YA novel struggling to be literary fiction. I taught English and would have returned the first two chapters and told the author to delete half the metaphors. They were overdone to a fault. I could not relate to any of the characters.. they seemed shallow and irresponsible. The themes of abandoned children, neglectful parents and date rape have been addressed much more effectively by other writers. I struggled through it and only finished to write a responsible review.

The Truth is a Theory by Karyn Bristol is about four friends, Allie, Megan, Tess and Zoe. It follows them from late high school through their mid-adult years. I enjoyed it. I found it to be interesting and enjoyable. Thank you to #Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book.

My interest in this story centered around the marital discord between Allie and Dana. The story was well-written and flowed well, but I would have preferred that the narrative focused more on their marital problems as opposed to veering the reader through vignettes centered on the college lives of Allie, Zoe, Tess, & Megan. I also had some issues with some head-hopping. At times, there were a couple paragraphs from one of the guys' POV that had been randomly inserted into the text. It was a bit jarring. Overall, the writing was good but it felt more like a new adult romance. I eventually lost interest around the 30% mark.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC copy of Karyn Bristol's The Truth is a Theory in exchange for an honest review.

This is a story about four friends: their public personas and their private lives. I found it to be very interesting and entertaining. If you like Liane Moriarty’s writing style, I think you will enjoy this book. It kept me interested from the first chapter. I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving this review