Three Things I Know Are True by Betty Culley

Three Things I Know Are True

by Betty Culley

Fans of Jandy Nelson and Marieke Nijkamp will love this deeply moving novel in verse about the aftermath of a gun accident.

Life changes forever for Liv when her older brother, Jonah, accidentally shoots himself with his best friend Clay’s father’s gun. Now Jonah needs round-the-clock care just to stay alive, and Liv feels like she’s the only person who can see that her brother is still there inside his broken body.

With Liv’s mom suing Clay’s family, there are divisions in the community that Liv knows she’s not supposed to cross. But Clay is her friend, too, and she refuses to turn away from him—just like she refuses to give up on Jonah.

This powerful novel is a stunning exploration of tragedy, grief, compassion, and forgiveness.

Reviewed by readingwithwrin on

3 of 5 stars

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In the end, we are all paying for the care Jonah will need for the rest of his life."

Three Things I Know Are true is the heartbreaking story of Liv as she deals with the aftermath of her brother (Jonah) gun shot injury. Liv is the only one who still see’s Jonah for who he was before and can comfort him.

This is a lot for anybody to deal with, but for a teenage girl to be dealing with this and trying to think about her future its even tougher. How can she plan for a future when she knows her older brother Jonah will never get one now? How can she focus on school when her mom is avoiding dealing with the new Jonah and she’s the only one left in the family to really be focusing on him?

All these questions are hard ones to answer but they do get answered in this story, and tough lessons are also learned in the process. The toughest part of all of it though is the friendships lost and the invisible line drawn between people because of what happened to Jonah.

I know how expensive it is

to be helpless.

How many things don’t count

as necessary.

A wheelchair ramp

A wheelchair van

clothes, air-conditioning, prayer cards.

Everything has to be for my brother now.

Jonah doesn’t ask for anything,

but he needs everything."

Overall this is a tough book to read. Liv’s life isn’t easy and its one that has her balancing school, helping take care of Jonah, try to keep a social life, and trying to not cause any trouble for her mom who can barely pay the bills. What I liked most about her though was how she never stopped caring about things, and putting herself out there for those that she loved. The care that she showed Jonah, and all of his nurses how she get to know them and see them for something outside of just being a nurse.

I also really enjoyed Liv’s friends and the differences between her two best friends and how they treated what was happening. Raine while a little frustrating at times, had her heart in the right place and always made sure to be there when it was needed and I really liked her for that.

The game that her and Clay have is one that I really liked and taught me things that I didn’t even know about. It also showed that how just being there and listening can help someone even if it’s not talking about what the problem is.

If you want a hard hitting quick book I recommend this one.

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 29 January, 2020: Finished reading
  • 29 January, 2020: Reviewed