<b>From the co-author of <i>The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society</i>comes a wise, witty, and exuberant novel, perfect for fans of Lee Smith, that illuminates the power of loyalty and forgiveness, memory and truth, and the courage it takes to do what’s right.</b><br><br>Annie Barrows once again evokes the charm and eccentricity of a small town filled with extraordinary characters. Her new novel,<i>The Truth According to Us,</i> brings to life an inquisitive young girl, her beloved aunt, and the alluring visitor who changes the course of their destiny forever.<br><br>In the summer of 1938, Layla Beck’s father, a United States senator, cuts off her allowance and demands that she find employment on the Federal Writers’ Project, a New Deal jobs program. Within days, Layla finds herself far from her accustomed social whirl, assigned to cover the history of the remote mill town of Macedonia, West Virginia, and destined, in her opinion, to go completely mad with boredom. But once she secures a room in the home of the unconventional Romeyn family, she is drawn into their complex world and soon discovers that the truth of the town is entangled in the thorny past of the Romeyn dynasty.<br><br>At the Romeyn house, twelve-year-old Willa is desperate to learn everything in her quest to acquire her favorite virtues of ferocity and devotion—a search that leads her into a thicket of mysteries, including the questionable business that occupies her charismatic father and the reason her adored aunt Jottie remains unmarried. Layla’s arrival strikes a match to the family veneer, bringing to light buried secrets that will tell a new tale about the Romeyns. As Willa peels back the layers of her family’s past, and Layla delves deeper into town legend, everyone involved is transformed—and their personal histories completely rewritten.<br><br><b>Praise for <i>The Truth According to Us</i></b><br><b></b><br>“As delightfully eccentric as <i>Guernsey</i> yet refreshingly different . . . an epic but intimate family novel with richly imagined characters, an intriguing plot and the social sensibilities you would expect of a story set in the South . . . Willa’s indomitable spirit, keen sense of adventure and innate intelligence reminded me of two other motherless girls in literature: Scout Finch in Harper Lee’s<i>To Kill a Mockingbird</i> and Flavia de Luce in Alan Bradley’s big-hearted British mystery series. . . . Just as we did in<i>Guernsey,</i> we empathize with the characters as if they’re our neighbors.”<b>—<i>The Washington Post</i></b><br><br>“Fans of Annie Barrows’s bestseller <i>The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society</i> . . . will recognize the author’s affinity for breathing life into her characters. . . . Barrows has crafted a luminous coming-of-age tale that is sure to captivate her grown-up audience. Against a lively historical setting, the joys and hardships of the rollicking Romeyn family will keep readers eagerly turning pages.”<b>—<i>BookPage</i></b><br><br>“In <i>The Truth According to Us, </i>Annie Barrows leaves no doubt that she is a storyteller of rare caliber, with wisdom and insight to spare. As she subtly unpacks the emotional intricacies of the Romeyn family and their small West Virginia town in the wake of the Great Depression, we’re struck by the slipperiness of history. Barrows is at her best here. Every page rings like a bell.”<b>—Paula McLain, author of<i>The Paris Wife</i></b><br><br>“<i>The Truth According to Us</i> is an irresistible novel . . . a tribute to the power of love and forgiveness to heal even the most heartbreaking betrayals.”<b>—Melanie Benjamin, author of<i>The Aviator’s Wife</i></b><br><br><br><i>From the Hardcover edition.</i>