Title: Almost True
Author: Keren David
Release Date: 2nd September 2010
Publisher: Frances Lincoln Children’s Books
Ruthless killers
are hunting Ty. The police move him and his Mum to a quiet seaside town. But a
horrific attack and a bullet meant for Ty prove that he’s not safe yet.
On the road again,
Ty’s in hiding with complete strangers... who seem to know a lot about him.
Meanwhile, he’s desperate to see his girlfriend Claire, and terrified that she
may betray him.
Ty can’t trust his own judgement and he’s making dangerous decisions that could deliver him
straight to the gangsters.
Ty isn’t coping well with his current life and longs to
go back to how things were when he wasn’t a witness to a murder. After another
failed attempt on his life, Ty has to move in with his Dad’s parents, which
turns out to be an exercise in learning about his past. While relationships
with his Mum and girlfriend, Claire, seem to be breaking down, can he build a
relationship with his new family or will he ruin it with recklessness and lies?
I really enjoyed ‘When I was Joe’ and so was looking
forward to finally getting to read Keren David’s next novel about Ty’s life
under witness protection. The opening chapter explodes with ferocity and the
violence that has plagued Ty’s life since he was a witness to murder. While I
did find the entirety of the book really engaging, I felt that actually, there
were several plotlines going on at the same time and in fact, this tale could
have been made into several books.
Keren David tackles several of Ty’s key relationships
within this novel with main characters such as his Mum, his Grandma, his Dad,
his girlfriend, his Dad’s parents and his new-found cousin Archie. While it was
brilliant to get to know a lot more about Ty’s life previous to ‘When I was Joe’
which is revealed to him through forming relationships with his Dad’s family, I
felt like the reader is thrown into information overload. However, despite
this, I understand that this kept me engaged (I was desperate to know what had
happened when Ty’s Mum and Dad separated) and also threw me into Ty’s world. He
has to deal with the trauma of being under witness protection, his Mum’s
shocking news and the truth about his past as well as worrying about lying to
the police.
There is so much going on in Ty’s life that it is hard to
keep up but the characters are so believable and captivating that they push
through the narrative. My favourite characters in this novel have to be Helen
and Patrick (Ty’s grandparents) as they offer guidance and support while he is
struggling to come to terms with what is happening. The introduction of so many
new characters meant that this novel is very unlike ‘When I was Joe’ in that it
has a different setting and the reader is given much more background
information on the crime.
I think if you liked ‘When I was Joe’ then you’ll like
this too. I was surprised by how much content was covered in the novel and how
many new characters were included but every page managed to maintain my
interest. I look forward to reading ‘Another Life’ (Book 3 in the series) and
seeing what happens to all the characters I have come to know and love.
4/5 A mammoth of content included!
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