Review: Not your typical love story...so much more
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 09 18, 2013
It's been a while since I've been on such an intense emotional roller coaster journey through what I would consider a great book.  I found myself completely engrossed in this story by the 3% mark, which I consider a pretty rare fete.  It's definitely not your typical New Adult book where you'll find a tattoo covered, swoon-worthy bad boy who falls in love with a virgin beauty whose hiding some dark secret, opens up to said boy, they fall in love, make each other better people with fuller lives all while discovering the wonderful world of sexuality.  Tally Landon and Lincoln Presley don't entirely fit those descriptions and their story definitely isn't that cut and dry.Lincoln Presley, 22, is a star college baseball player who's being scouted by the major leagues and on his way to stardom.  He lives for baseball, its all he thinks about and all he has time for.  Tally Landon, 17, is an aspiring ballet dancer on her way to being a famous prima ballerina.  She also lives for dance, lives for the chance to achieve her dream, and like Linc her passion is all she thinks about or has time for.  Neither one can afford to let anything stand in the way of their dreams so throughout the book they each make choices and decisions in their lives often based off of their shared fears of falling, failing and losing, which they believe ultimately will allow them to reach their desired goals.One Valentine's Day a chance encounter in the form of a tragic accident allows fate it's first opportunity to intertwine the lives of Lincoln and Tally when he saves her.  This brief brush with fate changes them both as individuals and seemingly alters the course of their lives.  Lincoln cannot shake the "image of her beautiful devastated face and haunting green emerald green eyes" he has no idea as to her name but desperately wants to know how she is and frantically searches for her in all the hospitals nearby.  Even months later he cannot get her out of his mind.  The accident has left Tally grief-stricken and her loss seems to follow her everywhere, she knows life must go on yet she cannot seem to figure out how.  She focuses all her energy into ballet and following the plan she once made with her twin sister Holly.Tally desperately needs a break from her life so she agrees to accompany her best friend Marla (who is like a sister and always gives her a never ending supply of love, support an encouragement and who I found to be a very vital and lovable character) to a college party, one where no one will know of her or the tragedy.  However, fate again plays its part holding the party at Lincoln Presley's cousin's house. It's at the party Lincoln and Tally officially meet.  Calling him Elvis, Tally immediately finds herself attracted to him and he makes her feel things and open up in ways she never has before.  In the continued effort to escape her past she pretends to be her sister Holly, it's her first lie.  Lincoln, realizing she has no recognition of him but wanting to know more about her, makes the decision to spend time with her, to at least find out her name, but he also decides not to reveal he knows the grief and darkness of her past.  His first lie is one of omission.As the night goes on Tally continues the lies even though at times she oddly finds herself being more truthful with him than anyone else ever before.  Tally and Elvis connect not only in a physical way but also on a deep emotional level.  It's just one night and in the morning life goes on, hers with ballet and his with baseball, absolutely nothing must keep them from their potentials and subsequently their dreams.  But what if it isn't just one night, what if this connection with one another won't go away?  As their lives move forward fate continues it game.This couldn't have been an easy story to write because it wasn't always an easy one to read about, especially when you find yourself completely vested in each character's happiness.  I was an emotional wreck, sometimes from anticipating the train wrecks their lies and decisions were causing and sometimes from being floored when outcomes I never dreamed of happening were transpiring.Tally and Lincoln are genuine characters with real flaws and real imperfections.  They're young and they struggled to fully to see how small decisions and innocent lies affected their lives and ultimately their happiness.  When fame came for each of them life only seemed to get harder.  The road to fame isn't an easy one and in the case of Lincoln and Tally it was one full of regrets.  Katherine Owen did such an amazing job highlighting each of their careers and the sacrifices they made to ensure not only their success but also the successes of each other.Tally makes some really tough choices in this book.  It was interesting to see how the accident and her eventual transformation afterwards affected the decisions she was making.  The book tackles so many hard themes but it's written so beautifully.  I literally lost track of time.  I started the book late one afternoon and didn't put it down until I was finished at 1:00am.  It's the next day and I still cannot get it off my mind.  From their first interaction it was obvious to me these two were meant for each other and while it took so long for them to each find their way back I never lost hope they would get their HEA.  Their ending is beautiful.  I can honestly say when I finished the book I didn't have any lingering questions, their story wrapped up perfectly without any loose ends.It's been months since I felt so emotionally impacted by a book, I highly recommend you give This Much Is True a chance.  It's not just a love story it's a life story about learning to love yourself first.  This story is so much more than you can imagine or than I ever expected.