Review: NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH (AND A FEW WHITE LIES) by Justina Chen Headley

Headley, Justina Chen. 2006. Nothing but the truth (and a few white lies). New York: Little, Brown and Company. ISBN 0316011282.

PLOT SUMMARY:
As a half white, half Asian teen, Patty Ho feels completely out of place in her life. She doesn’t live up to her Taiwanese mother’s strict standards and is the victim of harassment by racist classmates. Although she is prepared to have a miserable time at the math camp her mother sends her to for the summer, it’s at camp that Patty begins to find confidence and embrace her multi-faceted self.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS:
In Nothing But the Truth (and a Few White Lies), Headley contrasts an animated and casual writing style with intense emotions and experiences. The story is told in first person from Patty’s perspective. Although her observations of the world around her mark her as witty and intelligent, Patty views herself as perpetually awkward and out of place because of her mixed race. Her experiences back up her feelings of isolation. A classmate hurls derogatory remarks and spits on her, while her long-time crush sits idly by. Even her best friend shows a complete disregard for Patty’s Taiwanese culture: “Omigod, what weird Chinesey thing is your mom doing to you now?” As the reader, I never felt like Patty’s low self-esteem was completely illogical. With encounters like that, what average teenage girl wouldn’t start to feel ashamed of who they are? By entering a new environment with a diverse group of people, she realizes that nobody ever fits wholly into one perfect mold. She finds confidence in who she is and embraces her many “Asian, white, closet math geek, runner, friend, daughter, girl-in-lust-with-Stu” selves.

The only flaw that I found with the plot is that Patty’s transformation feels too sudden. As someone who experienced through similar high school experiences of isolation and embarrassment (down to humiliating motherly public lectures), it seems unlikely to me that Patty would undergo such a quick a shift in personality and behavior.

Cultural markers are used abundantly throughout the book, more than in any other book I have read this semester. The frequent mentions of cultural details seem appropriate to the story because Patty herself is so hyper-aware of her ethnicity. Although she is half-white, since Patty is raised by a single mother, her home life is rooted in Taiwanese culture. She is constantly at odds with her simultaneous desires to meet her mother’s high expectations and to avoid the Asian stereotypes of the “model minority.” She intentionally tries to bomb her math camp application. She resents the only other Asian girl in her class, Annie, for fulfilling the stereotype of a good Asian student by excelling in school. It’s a relief when she begins to realizing that being good in math doesn’t mean she’s a geek or that she’s perpetuating the model minority stereotype. She stops putting so much importance on how she thinks others see her, and focuses instead on how she views herself.

REVIEWS:
Booklist: “Headley lays on the empowering revelations with a trowel, and the stream of comic riffs, some of which miss the mark, slow this debut novel's pace. But Patty's contemporary, immediate thoughts about finding direction and relating to family have universal resonance, while her specific struggles will speak directly to biracial teens.”

CONNECTIONS:
This book is a good recommendation for teen girls. After they finish this book, recommend these other books about contemporary life as an Asian American teen or tween:
Girl Overboard by Justina Chen Headley
Stop Me If You’ve Heard This One by David Yoo
Project Mulberry by Linda Sue Park
Seeing Emily by Joyce Lee Wong