The Authenticity Project is a charming novel about humanity, second chances and acceptance. The cast of characters cross paths with a little notebook called the Authenticity Project started by septuagenarian Julian Jessop.. As it passes through each of their hands it forces the characters to reflect on their lives and how they are showing up in the world.

A book where you really connect with the characters. Each portray a different life then what truly lies within. The premise of the book is quite unique although at times can be a bit far fetched (my pessimistic side coming out). What I appreciate about the story is that the author does a really good job illustrating that things aren’t always as they seem. I am deducting a star because I didn’t love the ending.

I was blown away by this book. So glad I got the chance to read the advance copy.
Gives great insights into the lives of others and that things are not always as them seem. People are not being their authentic self.
The central character, Julian, is a loveable, rascally type gentleman who starts the whole journey off by writing his truth in a green notebook and casually leaves it in a cafe for someone to find. He invites them to share their stories. Then we meet quite a group of characters who stumble across the book and we learn about their lives. The characters lives start to intertwine making for some real interesting reading
A bit of a twist at the end of the story. I could not put it down. You need to read this

3.5
I really was looking forward to reading this book, but something happened to my kindle version and the writing was a bit distorted and hard to follow. Between that and reading it while I had a terrible case of the flu = I dont think I enjoyed it as much as I would have in a different context. The story was good and engaging but I just didnt feel into it or compelled by as much as expected. I would recommend for a summer read or cottage read more than a winter read. Thanks for the ARC though.

The Authenticity Project was such a fun and engaging read that also successfully tugged at my heartstrings! This book deals with the fact that we all have things going on under the surface that others don’t know about. We go about our days often hiding the way we truly feel, not to mention our hopes, dreams and regrets.

When coffee shop owner Monica comes across a notebook entitled The Authenticity Project, she learns some things about one of her patrons and decides she wants to influence his life for the better. Not only that, she decides to contribute to the notebook herself and leave it for someone else to find, the results of which will have ramifications for her life as well as others, that she never could have anticipated.

I loved getting to know all of the characters in this book and watching them become a sort of family. They all seemed like real people to me, and they were all so different that they probably wouldn't have become acquainted if not for the notebook.

I also love the underlying message, which is how important it is to connect with the humans around us. As ‘connected’ as we are to others through technology these days, it’ll never replace genuine human interaction. It also shows how amazing things can be when we bare our innermost selves to others, not worrying about judgement.

Thank you to Penguin Random House Canada and Netgalley for an e-galley of this book.

Thank you Penguin Random House Canada, Viking Books and Netgalley for a copy of The Authenticity Project by Clare Pooley.

The Authenticity Project starts of with a lonely man writing his authentic thoughts in a notebook and leaving it for a random stranger to find. The book follows the notebook as it’s found by others and adds their voices and perspectives as we go. As the book goes around, the people who find the book seem to work together to help the person before with their lives and they all end up friends. It’s a lovely story. Nothing too shocking happens, the characters all have their problems but they are all nice people, etc. There is one character that has a problem with drugs and alcohol in case that is a trigger for you but the use in the book is minimal.
My favourite perspective ended up being Alice, a new mom struggling with her life now and her husband not helping much, as well as balancing being a social media influencer. She takes calm beautiful pictures of her life as a mom but feels nothing of the sort in real life and can not seem to balance the two sides of her life.

The Authenticity Project is a fun read but it was just ok for me. It became a little repetitive for me and I wish there was a little more drama in the plot. If you are looking for a heartwarming, fun read, look for The Authenticity Project.

The Authenticity Project by Clare Pooley is a fresh and clever take on the power of human connection, and I felt myself being almost immediately drawn to this diverse cast of charming, well fleshed out characters.

It all begins with a green notebook. Seventy-nine year old Julian writes his personal truth in the book, posing a challenge to anyone who finds it to add an authentic account of their own life. The book is found in a coffee shop that is owned by Monica, and she feels compelled to add her own account to its pages, while also searching for a way to help Julian to alleviate his loneliness. Through a series of similar exchanges, the authenticity project is born..

Building on this heart-warming concept, and rich in characters that will linger in your conscience, this is a novel that you will not soon forget. Recommended.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada for this ARC.

A thoroughly enjoyable debut. The Authenticity Project is a wonderful exploration of friendship, community, authenticity, personality, masks, and building a life. The characters are vivid and well-drawn, each with a distinct voice and each gets just the right amount of resolution to their story. I look forward to reading Pooley's next novel.

I read this book through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Authenticity Project presents familiar characters and predictable plots in a way that makes it hard to put the book down.

I cared about the characters and I wanted happy endings for them all. Pooley offers a surprise near the end that elevates the novel.

Pick it up on a Sunday so you don't have to put it down until you're done.

I really wanted to like this book, but it was just okay for me. I liked the concept of “The Authenticity Project” and how the notebook was passed from character to character. I also enjoyed the diversity of the cast of characters and the friendship that they created but I just didn’t feel connected to these characters and their story. I felt it difficult to stay engaged to this book. This is most likely simply a mismatch of reader to book as others have reviewed this book much more positively.

Thanks to Netgalley and Penguin Random House Canada for the ARC of this book in exchange for the honest review provided here.

I requested and received an advance reading copy of this book and all I can say is WOW!
When I wasn't reading this book, I was thinking about the characters. I did not want to put this book down!

This book was awesome, you couldn't help but relate to the emotions the characters were feeling, and the stories they were sharing.

I will be recommending this book to everyone I know.

#TheAuthenticityProject #NetGalley

An interesting storyline, an old selfish, lonely man, Julien, who has secluded himself in his home for many years since his wife died came to the conclusion that most people are not honest about themselves. He knows he wasn’t, so he decides to write the truth about himself anonymously in a green book. What his expecting are is not clear, but he leaves the book in a little cafe.
Mónica, the owner of the book reads it she decides to find the old man and befriend him.
Then after some deliberation she decides to write about herself and her desperate desire to have a man and a baby and leaves it in a pub. The story carries on, more people read and then decide to write about themselves. The results are quite unexpected.
A good story, worth the read. It made me think about whether I and my acquaintances are true to ourselves. 3.1/2

Quirky and captivating. Loved how Clare wove the lives of totally opposites together. I want to join this group of misfits.

The concept of this book was neat and unique. The Authenticity Project plays with the idea of revealing your true, authentic self to the world. It seemed liberating at first to watch the characters tell their dark truths. I was inspired as they overcame their fears with the support of strangers and by the willingness of every person to help. However, I slowly realized that our truths are our own perception of our lives and our perception may be different from fact. If that’s the case, then is there still value in sharing your perception? I juggled with these deep ideas throughout the story and wondered what the response would be like to a real-life project like this and what the author’s inspiration was for the story. Does she feel like she must withhold aspects of herself from the world? It would cool to have a conversation with her about this.

I would’ve enjoyed this book more with some type of catalyst to the plot line. There was nothing to lose and the story was kind of linear. New characters with new truths appeared over and over again with no increase in tension.

If you’ve read this book, I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Thanks to Viking for the ARC for my honest review.

The Authenticity Project:
by Clare Pooley (Author)

I enjoyed “The Authenticity Project.” It is a clever, inspiring book that entertains and really makes one think.
It is the story of a solitary green notebook that brings together six strangers and leads to unexpected friendship, and even love.
An older, lonely widower/artist who has spent the last fifteen years pretty much by himself in his home is determined to get back out into the world. He comes up with an idea.....he writes his truth in a green notebook and leaves it on a table in a local café.....and The Authenticity Project is begun.
Julian Jessop, an eccentric, lonely artist and septuagenarian believes that most people aren't really honest with each other. But what if they were? And so, he writes--in a plain, green journal--the truth about his own life and leaves it in his local café. That is run by the incredibly tidy and efficient Monica, who secretly adds her own entry and leaves the book in the wine bar across the street. Before long, the others who find the green notebook add the truths about their own deepest selves--and soon find each other In Real Life at Monica's Café.
The Authenticity Project's cast of characters--including Hazard, the charming addict who makes a vow to get sober; Alice, the fabulous mommy Instagrammer whose real life is a lot less perfect than it looks online; and their other new friends-is by turns quirky and funny, heartbreakingly sad and painfully true-to-life. It's a story about being brave and putting your real self forward--and finding out that it's not as scary as it seems. In fact, it looks a lot like happiness.
The Authenticity Project is just the tonic for our times that readers are clamoring for--and one they will take to their hearts and read with shameless pleasure.
I just knew from the first few pages that I was going to love Clare Pooley's debut fiction novel, The Authenticity Project. You will too.... I found it so hard to stop reading until the very end.
The writing is so easy to read, flows so easily and is addictive. If you're looking for a warm, feel-good, uplifting, unexpected, just be yourself story this is one you'll want to read. After I turned the last page, I wondered - what would happen if someone actually did this?
"Everyone lies about their lives. What would happen if you shared the truth instead? The one thing that defines you, that makes everything else about you fall into place. Not on the internet, but with those real people around you? Maybe nothing. Or maybe telling that story would change your life, or the life of someone you've not met me. That's what I want to find out."
What a great idea? I couldn't wait to see what would happen next. Well, the notebook is picked up again and again - and the lives of six strangers connect.
I just loved the characters - they're all wonderfully drawn, strengths, faults and all. I would have loved to be sitting around that table kept quickly turning pages to see who would next pick up the book. The narrative moves from player to player and again and this only ensured I couldn't put the book down. Those intersections get more and more complicated, changes happen and I certainly didn't see some of them coming. Some I liked, some I didn't, but they were all 'just right' for the book.
"If we all stopped making each other feel sad and inadequate by pretending to be perfect, and instead opened up about our struggles, we would all be much happier, and feel less alone." Clare Pooley.
Meaning of word: septuagenarian ~ a person who is between 70 and 79 years old

About Author Clare Pooley
Clare Pooley graduated from Newnham College, Cambridge and spent twenty years in the heady world of advertising.
When Clare realised that she was drinking way too much, she quit, and started a blog called Mummy was a Secret Drinker, which became a memoir - The Sober Diaries.
The Authenticity Project, Clare’s first novel, was inspired by her experience of telling the truth about her life.
The book is available from www.amazon.ca, www.amazon.com, www.kobo.com and other fine book stores.

Such an interesting premise. Very original story, interesting characters, loved how the stories interconnected, how the characters in the book interacted with one and other and how they formed a unit, a family taking care of each other.

The Authenticity Project is a small journal, started by septuagenarian, Julian Jessop. It was created with the sole goal of people sharing their stories, and getting to <i> truly </i> know their neighbours.

This book beautifully weaves the stories of Julian, Monica, Hazard, Riley, Alice and Lizzie (along with some other really fun side characters). They're all flawed in their own ways, and it just felt very raw and real to me. I felt like I knew these people by the end of the book, and I WANT MORE. (Please Clare Pooley... I'm begging you for a sequel or spinoff).

If you love fun British books with interesting characters and lots of love, you should give this one a shot!

Thanks to NetGalley & Penguin Random House for an early copy of this book for review... But I immediately went and bought a copy for myself on Tuesday anyway LOL.

Loved the concept of this book and how all the characters came together and crafted such a warm community, but i found the story itself lacked authenticity. Everyone was such an exacting character, you knew almost exactly how everything would go. Still an entertaining read.

I really loved this book! The story pulled me in immediately and it was one that stayed on my mind long after I finished it. I found the characters intriguing and the plot contained lots of twists, which kept me hooked until the end. The fiction I’ve been reading lately tends to be more tragic and filled with despair, so it was refreshing to read a book that genuinely brought me pleasure and made me happy. The lightness did not come at the expense of good writing though – Pooley’s style felt fresh and original. I read this book early thanks to NetGalley and was recommending it to friends before it was even published.

This story affirms how we all think that the grass is greener – that everyone else’s lives are better than our own – and how very misleading appearances can be. Also, how, by telling the bald truth, several disparate and flawed characters come together in friendship. A ‘feel-good’ read that confirms that happiness is possible but it sometimes requires more effort than a lot of people are willing to expend. Or sometimes perhaps, it is just ‘kismet’.

This might seem like a light story, but it has several important messages. Didactic fiction wrapped up in empathy and humour, this is a story about hopes, dreams, addictions, parenthood, social media, friendship, and community.

I loved these characters and this story. With astounding clarity and transparency, Clare Pooley has written her own truth via a fictional story that will be sure to touch the hearts of its readers.
Highly recommended!