When Flux Books reached out to see if I was interested in an early copy of The Truth About Everything, I jumped at the chance to read it. Lark is 15 and has never been to school. Instead she has been taught by her parents. Important things like how the government controls your life through vaccines and paperwork and food. Things like how to prepare for the inevitable day your house gets raided and you have to "bug out." She has one friend, Alex, who helps her to see that maybe there is more to life than paranoid anti-government parents and with his help, she secretly enrolls in school. She starts to make friends and learn that the world is a lot different than she's been taught.

In 288 pages, the author tackles child abuse, anti-government and so so much more. It was incredibly well written, at times hard to read and sad and hopeful at the same time. In some ways, the book was also terrifying because I know there are people in the world who believe similar things to Lark's parents and children being raised like she is.

I am so grateful to the publishers for allowing me to read this book early. I can't wait to explore Farr's work more in the future. The Truth About Everything comes out on October 11 and is available for pre-order now.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

My Selling Pitch:
Do you want to read about a girl home-schooled by right-wing conspiracy theorists as she tries to attend public school?

Pre-reading:
This cover looks dirty at first glance, but it isn't meant to be.

Thick of it:
It's immediately giving Educated by Tara Westover.

Oh, Alex you sweet angel boy.

Story is getting a bit preachy.

Why make it icky with burger grease? They’re being cute? I don’t like how a lot of the dialogue in this book doesn’t seem right for their ages, though. It’s too mature sometimes.

Yes, thank you for not letting her be able to guess his computer password.

Smidge of an author-insert fantasy sin with the love interest being into her crying over books, but I'll let it slide.

Jesus christ, this boy is an angel.

Yikes on the haircut fights. Real healthy relationship right there.

Lark’s mother is a heinous bitch for that.

Post-reading:
This book is good, and fine, and entertaining, but it doesn't go far enough to be a must-read. Sometimes the dialogue feels a bit off with high school teenagers sounding like emotionally mature adults. It sounds a bit stilted at times. I wish it had gone darker (does this count as darker?); you have a girl who doesn't know what kissing or periods are, getting a boyfriend, and access to the internet and it's never really addressed. You have her mother having all these miscarriages with mental illness, and yet Lark's curiosity about them is never addressed by more than a bullet point on a list. Lark says she doesn't believe in god, but her family treats the dead babies like they're with them, so what does she believe? The side characters as a whole aren't super developed, but the book is pretty sparse on their scenes. Alex is an angel baby who deserved more time spent on him. I've seen some criticism of this book’s portrayal of homeschooling, and I think it's a bit unfair. The author isn't going after homeschooling, just Lark’s particular version of it-or lack thereof. I think the book would be stronger if her dad did have some helpful ideas (we’re told about the vanilla against gnats) that don’t come from other people. It's like the book is almost trying to be balanced and make the statement that people can be conspiracy nutjobs and still have valuable lessons in them, but that falls flat when all the value comes from information that that character explicitly googled and that by extension Lark could easily find out herself. I dunno, I wish it was longer too. I want to see more of the impact her upbringing has on the rest of her life. It's almost too easy of a read for what should be pretty heavy subject matter. I miss the weight.

Who should read this:
Fans of children escaping their culty parents

Do I want to reread this:
No

Similar books:
* Educated by Tara Westover-memoir about escaping religious extremism for education
* Uncultured by Daniella Mestyanek Young-memoir about a girl escaping a cult for education
* Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens-girl raised in poverty and self educates

Thank you to NetGalley and publishers for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Wow. I wasn’t sure what I going into when I requested this but I really appreciate Lark’s story and the discussion Bridget chooses to raise in regards to her education and family. Lark is a smart 15 y/o who is learning the ways of the world from her doomsday prepper father and tag-along mother (who’s dealing with mental illness). I appreciate the fact that Lark is shown to be smart, but not academic as she hasn’t step foot in a school and can’t read but longs to. It was a compelling and compulsive read that I think balances the realities of such a situation well. Definitely had many quotes highlighted because *ooft!* As a previous educator and someone who strongly believes in the power of education I felt that it was important to show that it wasn’t because Lark couldn’t learn or had a learning disability, she just had never been taught and there is nothing wrong with home schooling – provided that all academic criteria is met. Bridget handles the topics well, and I think it’s a fine line to straddle that she pulled off. This isn’t a commentary on conspiracy theorists and the dangers of living off the grid, this is about the importance of education and the desire to learn about the world as a whole.
The reason this isn’t 5 stars is that I felt the side characters weren’t overly developed. Jessica was okay, Grandma Betty was a boss and Alex was a sweetheart but there wasn’t much more to it. Whilst I understand its Lark’s story and I appreciated getting Alex’s background, I did feel that if it was a touch longer it would have been able to flesh out a tad more.
And no fault of the author but the eARC was formatted weirdly and so it occasionally took me out the story, but for those reading the eARC just be aware.

The Truth About Everything is a novel that I think everyone should read. Lark has lived on her rural farm all her life, and she knows how to clean a fish, hunt on her own, rewire and fix trucks, and how to survive the inevitable collapse of the US Government.

Lark is one of my new favourite characters, and while I would not survive in her world, I think she could do well with the current state of the world right now. The dynamic between herself, her family and friends is something that isn’t always shown in novels like this, but I’m glad it was, as it makes her much more believable.

This was a super fast read, and yet I didn’t want it to end. The epilogue at the end helped a bit, but I would love to learn more about Lark’s family and how they made the decisions that were pre-established in this book.

Thank you to NetGalley, Flux and the author for allowing me to read this novel in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Rating: 2.5, rounded up

This is a YA book following Lark, a teenager who lives on a secluded farm with her parents, who have decided to live off the grid as anti-government conspiracy theorists. But as a young teenager, Lark decides that she wants to go against her parents' wishes and make her own path by going to school in secret.

I think topics like these in these books have to be written with a certain nuance and understanding. I don't know much about Farr's background, but I know she's a teacher from a family of teachers and don't think she's from a situation like Lark in this book. Truly I couldn't tell if this book was pushing Christianity or mocking it, which isn't great. But the biasness of it all really comes out when describing some people as "normal" (as opposed to Lark's parents' "abnormal") and to traditional school as "real school" (insinuating that homeschool is never and could never possibly also be "real school"). Don't know if this was the intention, but it certainly comes off that way in the text.

I am a liberal and queer person from a rural area in the deep South. I 100% understand where all of this is coming from, but I don't know if this is something someone should tackle when it has never been part of your immediate environment, because everything just comes off as judgmental and, quite frankly, contradictory to the main point Farr is trying to make (bodily autonomy and rights of children). You can't say that you want children to have more say in their choice of education without also acknowledging that some people aren't cut out for traditional schooling, that homeschooling (while yes also used by overly religious & extremists as a way to keep their children from trad schooling) isn't "real school" or a viable option for some people. There's no dichotomy or nuance in this book which is its biggest flaw.

Also with Lark's best friend and sort of love interest Alex, who is supposed to be a Native American kid (who would probably understand what it's like to be a victim of a white government, racism, and boarding schools, no?), but he always gasps and scoffs when Lark doesn't eat chocolate or drink soda or know what internet stuff is. And calls her "home school" as a nickname.

That being said, there are some things that work. I think the actual points the book is trying to make are interesting and fair points. The points are how to slog through endless amounts of information and find what the truth really is, especially when pertaining to science/illness and history. The second point is child autonomy as children have almost zero rights when it comes to making decisions that can affect their life in positive ways, such as with education and health. Again, the point is good but you have to also consider it going the other way and that some teens want to choose homeschooling or GED paths over traditional schooling (it's a bit of an ableist mindset too if you think about it. People on the spectrum or introverts with bad social anxiety might benefit from not being in such a social and chaotic environment and benefit from homeschooling. If someone who is happily homeschooled picked up this book and read that homeschooling isn't "real school" or is "just for religious radicals" and "but what about social engagements/homeschooled kids have no friends" is really a slap in the face). The story overall is fine, though it feels more middle grade to me than YA. I did read it and enjoy reading it, but too often found myself making mental question marks on a lot of topics the author tries to weave in here.

I think Farr is a good middle grade writer and can tell a good story but this piece in particular just comes off a bit as a white, extroverted teacher writing about something she doesn't completely understand on a deep or personal level. I know for a 100% fact that this was absolutely not the author's intention. She clearly has a passion for educating and helping children in the classroom. But intention and what actually comes out on the page are two different things.

So because of all that, I'm a bit conflicted on how I feel about this one, which is sad because I think it has all the elements of a good younger YA book, but I just can't get passed some of the ideals presented with lack of dichotomy and willingness to look beyond surface-level situations.

Also, I don't know who I'd recommend this story to. Who is the intended audience?? My 13 year old nephew is homeschooled and I could never recommend this book to him because I think it would hurt his feelings and make him feel stupid or abnormal. But if I gave this to my 17 year old trad school cousins, would they even care about it? I'm not sure.

Thank you to the publisher for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Truth About Everything, starting out hinting at a survivalist story about isolation and potential societal breakdown, and taking a sharp turn into educational (and medical) abuse and neglect, contains a lot of big concepts through the eyes of someone ill-equipped to handle them- so the fact that it so beautifully and accurately weaves its way through those concepts is true praise. There isn't much plot to describe, just Lark's journey into understanding and learning how and what she wants. An empathetic and well constructed view into a rarely considered aspect of abuse.

This was a unique coming of age story. Lark is the 15 year old daughter of an overbearing, conspiracy-nut father and meek mother who goes along with all of his crazy ideas. Lark is completely isolated and sheltered, She has no birth certificate, no medical records and is "protected" from the dangers of school, refined sugar, etc. When she gets her period she realizes how completely unprepared and unknowledgeable she is. She takes advantage of her dad being away on a long-haul trucking trip to enroll in school. I cheered her on as she attempted to educate herself and broaden her world. I wish some of the other characters were a little more fleshed out, particularly Alex.

This book was mad lit. Lark’s parental units are straight loons, man. Like, imagine being so batshit crazy that you go “off the grid.” Now imagine you’ve got a kid. Now imagine your dumbass trying to homeschool that kid because you fear tHe GoV’mEnT gOn CoM tAk Yr GuNs! It’s impressive Lark doesn’t go all ThunderDome on their asses. I dug the underlying message that everyone you know is a dumbass piece of shit, regardless of what they may claim. That felt true. ngl, I was hoping for a more epic close out for the story, but I was super into what a bummer it was. Like, silver-linings aside, Lark is totes boned. Therapy, no cap.

I was able to access an ARC of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This story follows fifteen-year-old Lark, who’s been “homeschooled” her entire life by her parents, conspiracy theorists who are deeply distrustful of the government. Her life changes when she secretly attends school for the first time, discovering a new world of knowledge that upends everything she’s ever known.

This is a book about truth, freedom and the importance of education. I liked that it had a rather simplistic and straightforward writing style, a reflection of Lark’s one-dimensional worldview resulting from her isolated upbringing. We see her attempt to break free from her parents’ stronghold over her mindset and try to carve out an identity for herself that’s distinct from them, which fits nicely with the genre of YA. I felt proud of Lark as she eventually gained independence of thought and set out to rediscover the world on her own terms. Overall, while I wished certain aspects could have been fleshed out in greater detail (such as the relationship between Lark’s parents), I enjoyed reading The Truth About Everything, which is set to be released on 11 October 2022. Its premise is not something that we see often in YA, and it raises important discussions about discerning truth from falsehood and the influence that parents have over their kids.

This is a quiet type of book. A book about discovering that the truth is a hard thing to dig out. It's about learning that parents hold opinions and those might not be the truth, but they are the world of their children... until the children, one day perhaps, can open their eyes to their own opinions. This is particularly hard for children that are kept away from everyone and supposedly "homeschooled".
This is the type of book that makes you sad, but also hopeful.
The events of this book are very mild, not much happens at all, but you care about the main character, Lark, and you want to know, to see her journey from being sheltered to making her own opinions. A powerful little book questioning what freedom is, what truth is, and inviting you to question what you think you know. Very well written.

so i started this book with high hopes as i love the idea of it, the MC sounded amazing and it already had great reviews.
Sadly i dont think i was in the right head space to read it and so i kept putting it down and then i just DNF it.
i am hoping to come back in the future and re-read and so i al leaving this review here now and will edit in the future when i actually read it

"A no today can be a yes tomorrow. The beginning doesn't have to determine the ending."

Lark has grown up in the farm with her parents, who are antigovernment. She doesn't have a birth certificate or vaccines. She has never been to a doctor or school. Her parents don't allow her to have sugar or processed food. She knows how to gut a fish, ride a truck, and use a gun, but there is much she doesn't know and when she secretly enrolls herself in Willow Creek School, Lark's life is changed. Soon, Lark is introduced to a new world. Words she can read, a new language she picked easily, true history rather than conspiracies, the internet, algebra, and photosynthesis. There are challenges she must face to reclaim the education she had never been provided with. Lark's character is well-developed and believable. She is so innocent (its adorable and frightening at the same time).

The Truth About Everything follows Lark's discovery of herself, of shedding the layers she had never questioned before. The book explores the effects of polarization and conspiracies in the modern world, and the haunting effects they leave on the children.

Thanks to NetGalley and Flux for providing me with an ARC of The Truth About Everything in exchange for an honest review.

One of the things I learned reading cult narratives is how easy it is to control someone. If you can control their information, control their sources of knowledge, then you can control everything. This isn't a cult - exactly - but the principles are the same; Lark's father wants her to believe and act exactly as he does, so he keeps her near him all the time and makes sure she has no other source of knowledge.

Until she sneaks off to school, anyway.

I liked this story - it says important things that we should be talking about, especially in light of decisions made in American law yesterday - but outside Lark's family, I found the characters a little flat. Alex was lovely, but he didn't have much of a personality in my opinion. Jessica has even less; she's just nice and religious in a non-overbearing way. Jessica's not a huge part of the story, but Alex is, so it' a shame we don't know more about him.

I really enjoyed the story, though. It was lovely to watch Lark find her feet, and her mind, and start to think for herself. I'd love to check back in on her later and find out how her parents are doing.

A recommended read, if only to teach people that we should all be thinking for ourselves!

What a book! Beautifully written with a unique story that sucked me in the further I got. I loved Lark, she is adorable and innocent and frankly, learning her way in the world. And the world is not what her dad has told her. It was far from it.

Lark was born to extremely government hating parents who believe that the government is there to monitor them. The vaccines, processed food and schooling - to name a few - is a way for the government to control their life. Lark didn't have much options in the belief until one day, she decided that she wanted to go to school. She wanted to learn. To read. To be normal. From that one decision, Lark will have to jump through many obstacles and make many decisions to finally be who she wants to be and not who she was made to be.

It was a charming story of self discovery and helped remind me of what I take for granted. I love how the story was written out and there was consistent pace in story telling. There is EMOTION with this book and I loved every minute of it. It was raw and there were parts that made my heart melt.

The Truth About Everything is a well written book balancing story telling and character development. I found loveable characters and frustrating ones. I found a new point of view. Overall, this is an excellent read that I would recommend to anyone.

I love Lark, she's an amazing 15-year-old of indeterminate ethnicity (assumed white?) but she's great. She can fix a car, but doesn't what what her own period is. When she defies her parents' ideas and goes to school, I cheered for her success, and when her dad took her home, it was so sad! Alex is a great friend to her & I love how the story ends, so hopeful - maybe a sequel someday? Either way, it's a great story. Characters are well-developed and full, you can really identify with them.

One problem in chapter 26 p. 281 of 468, "The open doors sends a ruse of cool air into the truck."
In the author bio, the word "pick" is italicized and doesn't need to be.

"The Truth About Everything" is a book that meets our present moment. In an age where internet conspiracies and political polarization have grown exponentially, Everything asks an important question: what about the kids? Not just that they haven't been vaccinated, or tried fast food, but that they haven't been EDUCATED.

Our main character, Lark, is little more than a reflection of her parents. Brought up with a pale mimicry of "homeschool," she doesn't know all that much. She thinks 9/11 was an inside job and that fluoride is in the water to lower our I.Q.'s. When she gets her first period, a complete shock, she realizes her education may be lacking. Using her period as the catalyst for her growth is a cool move, and ties into a broader theme of women expanding beyond men's views of the world.

Lark's dad is the main conspiracy theorist in the family, and a looming force even when he is away trucking. While her mom has resigned herself to living in the shadow of his lies, Lark and her grandmother are less content. I think there's something interesting to be said for how Lark grows into her identity as a young woman through her relationships with Jessica and Alex.

Jessica and Alex, however, are not particularly strong characters. Few in the book are. Lark is understandable, her lack of identity is a consequence of her sheltered life. But most every other character seems like little more than a device for her Lark's growth. Alex helps her plot and introduces her to romance, Jessica introduces her to life as a teen, her grandmother provides proper meals. They don't have much character beyond that. Alex is a Native American who plays basketball... but what else?

Stronger characterization could've helped develop some of the more interesting themes too. Take, for example, her family's trauma. It is made fairly apparent to the reader that the reason her family went off the deep end is because of a series of miscarriages. But this trauma isn't truly explored, and Lark never truly reckons with it. We don't ever really see her question why she treats her mother's miscarriages as fully developed siblings who are a part of the family. Or why her parents do! Or how that may have affected their well being, particularly her mother's.

The dialogue in this book was alright. In the beginning, up until after she starts at school, it is lacking. It feels sort of stilted, and unbelievable. It strengthens as the book goes on, however, and by the latter half I didn't really notice it.

Keeping overt politics out of it was also a smart move. It's fairly apparent her dad is a right-wing conspiracy theorist, but not explicitly putting him in that camp removes some of the biases readers may have.

There is a strong bond between fathers and daughters. Lark's father is a conspiracy theorist who distrusts the government and has moved his family into a rural area away from the city and towns. Her father homeschools Lark. He provides for his family from their farm and he is a long haul trucker. He is not a physically abusive person, but he has kept his wife and daughter away from relationships with other people. Lark has learned how to survive and protect herself, but she has no idea of what the world is really like. When things she hears from her one good friend suggests that her father may not, in fact, know everything, Lark decides that maybe she might like to go to school, so she enrolls herself while dad is away on a trucking trip. When her dad comes back, he is upset with her, and she has to choose between her father and her desire to go to school. This would be a very good read for some seventh through ninth grade readers. I received an ARC and was not pressured for a positive review.

Ramona Thompson

My opinions on this book flipped back and forth as I read this book. When I first began reading it, I greatly disliked it and really wanted to hate it, solely on its portrayal of homeschooling. The family in the book claims to homeschool but is really just neglectful of their daughter, Lark. This plays into the stereotypes of homeschooling - that of the religious isolationist or the anti-government white supremacist. While there are certainly people like that who homeschool, just as there are people like that you send their kids to public school, the reality is that long before covid, two of the fastest growing subsections of homeschooling were secular homeschoolers who wanted something better for their kids that what our current school system can provide, generally with at least one parent having an advanced degree and BIPOC families who were tired of dealing with the racism inherent in our public system. Both of these groups, as well as the cross section, are far cries from the stereotypes portrayed in the book.

As I read Lark's struggle to learn more and follow her natural desire to learn while avoiding her father's complete control, I began to enjoy the book more. The writing was engaging, Lark began to grow more as a character, and the story started driving. I was looking forward to finding out what happened. However, the book once again took a turn, blaming everything once again on homeschooling and fostering yet another myth - that homeschoolers are all out to recreate school at home, something that most homeschoolers, or at least those two aforementioned groups, are definitely not out to do.

There were nods to the fact that her father was involved with a white supremacy group, but rather than face racism head on, it just gets shoved to the side. Lark's mother just goes along with whatever her father says, and Lark is left bereft, and never fully developed, in the middle.

This is not a book I would recommend.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for an arc of this book in exchange for a review.

It is very rare that I start a book and cannot accomplish anything else until it is finished, and even more rare for that type of book to be YA. This book did it for me though. I was so intrigued with Lark and her story from the very beginning. Her thought process, relationship with Alex, and how she navigated the world was not written in a typical YA fashion. I loved how the author used the example of 9/11 to show Lark how her previous education had been lacking and allowed her the opportunity to work through that as we went along with her. There were minimal characters introduced to us, and the ones that we did meet were important to the story. I felt that they were well fleshed out and I was invested in the characters.

I wanted to hate her parents and went into the book expecting that to be the case. In the end. I couldn't hate them, as much as I wanted to, and could empathize that they truly thought they were doing what was best for her. I know that there are a minority of individuals who share the views of Lark's parents and that Lark's experience could be a reality for many children across the country.

The author calls this book "the question of how we determine the truth".

What if all you knew was the very little your parents taught you? If you didn't know enough to know what you didn't know? I always tell my students that education is really about asking questions and finding the answers.

But Lark doesn't have that option. "Finding truth is like predicting the rain. Nothing I can hold on to. Nothing to be sure about." When she slowly begins to question, the answers aren't what she expected to find.

This book deals with some heavy issues, including mental health and depression, but also foster care, neglect, and political stress. The author handles these each deftly, with sensitivity and care, while nudging the reader to think for themselves.

Lark's situation may be unique to the story, but stories like hers need to be told. Read more, study the past, and keep asking questions!

"I won't come back - I could, I might want to - but I won't need to. I can look up and see the clouds and know it's just rain. I see it now. The truth."

Triumphant, and full of the power of questions and answers.