The Truth According to Us

I very much enjoyed The Truth According to Us by Annie Barrows which is set in 1938 in West Virginia, USA telling the story of a family in a small town.  Layla Beck, a "spoilt" young woman from a wealthy family is sent to the town as part of the Federal Writers' Project, part of the New Deal jobs program to learn about working.  She boards with the Romeyn family headed by divorced father Felix, his sister Jottie and his two small girls Willa and Bird. Layla's job is to write a history of the town.  Much of the story is narrated by Willa so the reader has an insight in to her thinking and learns about the different characters.  Other parts of the story are told in the third person so the reader steps away from Willa to see the story more broadly.  Felix is a lovable cad with whom Layla falls in love despite Jottie's warnings.  Jottie is a strong character who has a troubled past involving a tragic scandal.  The story was a little slow to start but worth persevering as the reader is drawn in wanting to learn what happens to everyone and discover the truth about what happened in the town in 1920. 41/2/5