Truthers

Description

Katie Wallace has never given much thought to 9/11. She was only a year old when terrorists struck American soil. But now her dad has landed in a mental institution after claiming to know what really happened. He insists the attacks were part of a government conspiracy. And he claims that Katie is living proof: the lone survivor of a massive cover-up. Hoping to free her dad, Katie sets out to investigate his bizarre claims. Soon she's drawn into the strange and secretive world of 9/11 conspiracy theorists known as the Truthers. What is fact and what is fiction? Katie no longer knows what to believe.

Geoffrey Girard writes thrillers, historicals, and dark speculative fiction for adults and teens. His first YA, the techno-thriller Project Cain, was nominated for a Bram Stoker Award. His short fiction has appeared in several best-selling anthologies and magazines, including Writers of the Future. Born in Germany and shaped in New Jersey, Geoffrey currently lives in Ohio where he is the English Department Chair at a private boys' high school and teaches creative writing, philosophy in literature, and horror. He has a BA in English literature and an MA and MFA in creative writing.

Examines one of the most critically-regarded events in history through the eyes of a tenacious teen who kept me up at night, challenging the things I'd previously regarded as fact. A deep, yet approachable story, both thrilling and touching.--Kristen Simmons, author of the ARTICLE 5 Series and Metaltown -- "Other Print" (2/1/2017 12:00:00 AM) Girard is a skilled storyteller, weaving history and conspiracy into a thriller that's bold, smart, and impossible to put down.--Natalie D. Richards, author of Six Months Later and One Was Lost -- "Other Print" (2/1/2017 12:00:00 AM) High school student Katie Wallace is used to taking care of herself while her dad's off drinking away painful memories. So when the police show up at Katie's house one night, she's not at all surprised--until they tell her what he's done. Threatening a former vice president and raving about government conspiracies quickly land him in a mental institution, where he's heavily sedated and kept away from Katie. When she's finally able to see him, her dad has some shocking revelations to share: he knows what really happened on September 11, and Katie is his living proof. In order to free her dad, Katie dives headfirst into an investigation of 9/11 conspiracy theories, meeting some of her father's former military contacts, butting heads with government officials and private security companies alike, and making shady deals with 'Truthers'--people convinced they know what the government is really up to. And the more entrenched Katie becomes in her research, the less sure she is about what to believe. Set in present-day Maryland, the novel walks a fine line between established fact and common conspiracy theory, and readers will question the truth right along with Katie. Girard has created a well-developed, quirky, tenacious main character for whom teens can't help but root. VERDICT A beautifully written, captivating must-have that will hook readers from beginning to end. Fans of mysteries, thrillers, and historical fiction will all find something to enjoy here.--School Library Journal -- "Journal" (6/1/2017 12:00:00 AM) In this intense thriller, a young woman delves into the world of conspiracy theorists to help her father, who's been remanded to a mental institution following a breakdown. Seventeen-year-old Katie Wallace is shocked when her father claims that she isn't his daughter but is living proof of a government cover-up involving the 9/11 attacks. Though Katie doesn't believe her father, her only hope of freeing him rests in finding some element of plausibility in his delusions. As her research brings her into contact with the truther movement and she uncovers shadowy clues and conflicting information, Katie wonders if she has stumbled across the sort of secrets people kill to hide. In exploring the complicated web of half-truths and audacious claims made by those who believe 9/11 was an inside job, Girard (Project Cain) takes readers down a disturbing, provocative path; both sides start to make sense as information is revealed and theories are debated. It's a fast-paced nail-biter with a resourceful heroine, packed with surprises that force readers to question every revelation and take nothing at face value.--starred, Publishers Weekly -- "Journal" (6/5/2017 12:00:00 AM) Seventeen-year-old Katie Wallace's world crumbles the day her father, Scott, beats up a coworker and is taken to a mental hospital, claiming he knows the truth about the September 11 attacks. After that, events move quickly, with Katie determined to obtain her father's release, and then, as she digs deeper, trying to find out what happened on that fateful day. Was it a hoax that she and Scott were involved in? If not, why are strange men following her, and what is it they want? Although there's lots that is implausible here, especially a scene in which Katie must decide whether to allow a government agent to be tortured, this moves at a fast clip, and readers will get caught up in both the conspiracy construct (actual Truther theories are explored) and the romance that is as tangled as the web of confusion surrounding September 11. Readers may come away with just a few answers to the many questions the book poses, but for those who like their action stories with a political bent, this should satisfy.--Booklist -- "Journal" (7/24/2017 12:00:00 AM) With compelling characters and non-stop action, Truthers will leave you thinking.--Mindy McGinnis, Edgar-winning author of A Madness So Discreet and The Female of the Species -- "Other Print" (2/1/2017 12:00:00 AM)