The Masked Truth by Kelley Armstrong

The Masked Truth is a YA realistic fiction book about facing your fears and staying alive. Riley Vasquez is traumatized by the shooting of a couple she was babysitting for, and feels guilty for not doing enough to stop it. She, along with five other teens, are mandated to attend therapy sleep away camp for the weekend, only to become entangled in a twisted, elaborate scheme. That Friday night, three armed, masked men come and take the group hostage. As one thing leads to another, Riley is forced to face her past. With the help of another teen, Max, they try to save everyone and escape.

I absolutely loved this book! The Masked Truth is one of the most intense, thrilling, and suspenseful books I've ever read! Not to mention that the imagery was amazing. I felt inside the book and very scared with the characters. Armstrong is brilliant at making seemingly coincidental events in fact not coincidental at all. The author did an amazing job with writing things that nobody can see coming and shocking me with every plot twist, which never stopped until the very last page, and I was really surprised with how the book turned out.

The romance between Riley and Max was stunning and it soothed some of the horror of their surroundings. They were really sweet and I loved how they supported each other though everything. The book wrapped up beautifully, and although in these tragic circumstances there can be no happily-ever-after, the characters are inspiring in positive attitudes and showing how to deal with tragedy and cope with it. 

I loved how the book showed prejudice and hatred in America. There are so many stereotypes angled towards people with mental illness and this book tackled that heads-on. The characters were so real, and the impersonation of their struggles touched my heart and really can educate others of what can be going on inside someone's head. 

I highly recommend this book!

Title: The Masked Truth
Author: Kelley Armstrong
Publisher: Doubleday Canada
Pages: 340
Series: No
Rating: 5 Stars
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