Probably the most unusual book I have read in awhile. So I was surprised how quickly I adapted:1) story entirely written in stanza format 2) unreliable narrator who is a pathological liar and 3) liking the plot twists and even the protagonist.

I wasn't sure if I'd like this book. I've never read anything in verse before, so this was an impulse grab at the library. Then, I started reading it, and I fell in love!

The writing was beautiful! I just couldn't put it down, and as such, I finished it in an evening. The verse also makes it really easy to speed through 400 pages. I was almost surprised when I finished the book in the sense of "Wow, I'm done already?!".

Also, it was HILARIOUS!! I nearly died of laughter a couple times. And of course, I couldn't actually laugh out loud (sadly) because I think the rest of the house was probably sleeping.

I didn't like Colette at first. I mean, she kept lying to us, and playing with my feels, and I was just like "stop being unreliable already!". She even addressed that whole "You can never believe a word I say." thing: where if they're lying, you can believe them sometimes, but if they're telling the truth, then you can't even believe that sentence. It's ridiculous!! But anyways, after a while, the lies started dropping away, at least in the readers' concern. But, then the entire book, I was worried that at the end, she'd just be like "Sorry, I was lying again!".

Spoiler

She didn't do that:D

She definitely grew throughout the book. By the end, she realized that lying wasn't going to get you anywhere, and it just hurt people and gave them a bad role model (in her little brother's case).

Note: the following spoiler concerns the ending. Don't read it if you WANT THE ENTIRE BOOK RUINED FOR YOU.

Spoiler

I really wanted to see her get revenge on Connor for lying to her about everything and for being such a jerk. I mean, the lie she concocted was brutal and I wanted to see it unfold brilliantly. But then, she decided to be the bigger person and tell the truth. Which is good, morally, but I still really want to see what would have happened.

So, go read this book. You will love it. It made me love verse so much, that I am now going to write my life story in verse, because that's how awesome verse is. Also, it lets you skip a ton of time, without the plot seeming holey, which is good for my life story, what with my terrible memory and all;)

Surprisingly charming - more so than I thought it would be. Fluff, but enjoyable fluff and the poetry isn't half as annoying as you would expect.

Colette, the main character, doesn't want to be in her mother's shadow, but all the while that she is trying to avoid it and the excitement that stems from her mom's famous lifestyle, she is also trying to find her own excitement, mostly through lies. It probably never occurred to her that the rest of the world isn't completely honest, either. That's where Connor, her older, sexy new guy friend comes in. He seems great, but he's keeping secrets too, and Colette doesn't only have to contend with all the secrets they're keeping between them, but with her little brother, Will, who wants to tag along and join in the fun. If you've ever been outwitted in your own life, even if only by yourself, you'll definitely identify with Colette. She outwits herself by thinking she's the best at the lying game she's playing, but she also outwits herself by realizing the truth about her situation - maybe everything isn't as awful as it seems. With fewer words that make up her short, to-the-point novels-in-verse, she so perfectly captures the honesty of being a teenager - and even the honesty of growing up and dealing with all the troubles that come along with it.

Sonya Sones has anyways been one of my favorite writers. Unfortunately, over time her books have become less and less poetic sounding, meaning that if I were to read it out loud, you wouldn't be able to tell it was supposed to be a poem. So that's why I gave this four stars instead of five.

Now let's push the writing style aside and talk about the actual story. It was very entertaining and fun to read, just like all her other books. The characters each had strong and unique personalities. Even though the main character is a compulsive liar, a quality that most people don't like, she character still turned out to be "likable." It's also apparent that she grows as a person, in many ways, by the time the book is finished. But the other characters are not upstaged at all. It's a great, small, ensemble.

Even though most of the beginning of the story was just her, being bored with taking care of her brother 24/7, it was not boring at all. The plot progressed at the perfect speed. Not too rushed, not too slow. Actually, scratch that. The scene where she meets the book's love interest felt a LITTLE rushed, but not so much that it disrupted the entire book.

It was my favorite sort of stories. I like stories that are really fun, but also address important topics and show true emotion. This book does that.

This book kept me on my toes and I loved every second of it. This novel was written in verse which made it a quick and easy read. I would recommend this book mostly to young adult readers, but I only regret putting off reading it for so long.

Read the full review at: http://theprincessgummybearreviews.blogspot.ca

To Be Perfectly Honest by Sonya Sones follows Colette who is the fifteen year old daughter of a famous actress and is a notorious liar and an unreliable narrator. When her mother moves them away from Hollywood to spend the entire summer on location, she meets and falls in love with Connor, a guy who has many secrets of his own. While the poetry verse is a unique way of telling a contemporary story and there is a great sibling relationship between Colette and her younger brother, Will, the insta-love in this novel is bound to push many readers away from reading this story. An okay read that could have been better if the plot had been executed better. 3/5

This book is so intriguing that I could not put it down for hours until I finished it. I never knew what to believe or what not to, and I never knew what to expect next. It was an amazing book that I would definitely recommend and I can't wait to read more from this author.