The Truth Will Set You Free

I wish I had a witty way to start this review. Some sort of statistic, or life experience I could compare the content to, but this time… I’m at a loss. This was probably one of the weirdest books I have read in quite some time, but regardless of the odd physical portrayal of anxiety, or the awkward and eclectic list of characters, I still found that I couldn’t put it down.

Sophia is a small town girl, but only at heart. In reality she’s a high-powered criminal lawyer living in New York with her equally as brilliant fiance Stephen. In other words, life is good, well… WAS good, until one night at dinner she suddenly develops this “fist-sized” ball (that she lovingly names FB) in the base of her throat. With no medical explanation for her sudden predicament, and a shrink that is as much help at a paper-weight Sophia is on her own, but when her mysterious psychological condition starts to wreck havoc on her life, and her health something has to give. Will Sophie finally give in to her inner self and become her own woman, or will the anxiety stuck inside her eat her alive?

Like I said before, this novel was a little odd, but for all of its quirky dialogue, and flamboyant situations (hello penis lamp) the story was surprisingly profound. Here was a woman that was so stunted by the pressures, and societal expectations of her life that she created a mental condition that eventually started to affect her physically. The sheer fact that Tonya Plank could even think this concept up is astounding, and to put it down (successfully) onto paper is even more noteworthy. Her characters were unlike any I’ve ever read before, ranging from the pornographic to the demure and about 50% of the way in (shockingly) I found myself genuinely caring about their welfare, however, great characters, and an interesting plot do not always mean perfection. There were several moments in which the plot seemed stunted, repeating itself, and even forcing what seemed like “afterthought” details. For example, there were several occasions in which Sophia engaged in phone conversations with her clients… I found each and every one of these calls useless and unnecessary, they did not add to the plot or deepen the significance of Sophie’s job, only acted as a drag to what would have otherwise been a fast moving story.

Overall? Decent read, and an interesting new take on “chick lit.” If you are looking for a (mostly) well written novel with a unique heroine, and a crazy play on feminist equality… this is the read for you, Oh! and lookey what I found.

WINNER OF GOLD MEDAL, 2010 Living Now Book Awards, Women’s Fiction
WINNER OF GOLD MEDAL, 2010 Independent Publisher Book Awards, Best Regional Fiction
FINALIST, 2010 ForeWord Magazine Book of the Year Awards, General Fiction
FINALIST, 2010 National Indie Excellence Awards, Regional Fiction

I knew I had it in me!

Happy reading my fellow Kindle-ites and remember; baby food is still food… but do you really want to explain to a room full of lawyers why you’re eating it?

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