This book was laid out a bit differently, giving you a different look at all kinds of parts of the story. Though something like this can be confusing, I think Avi did a good job. I did get mixed up between the principals, board members, etc. though.

Warning - some spoilers in this paragraph.
Just about everyone in the story lied except Narwin who was the person who took all the public blame. All she wanted to do was try to teach and the principal using that letter out of context was awful. It all came down to CYB - Cover Your Butt. It was funny to see how the report of the incident grew in exaggeration and how Ted's speech was basically the same thing but expanded as well. I don't defend Jesse either for his part of his lying. Although I don't think he had any idea what would happen when a few white lies got out of control.

The most significant part to me was the talk show transcripts. I used to produce a similar type of radio talk show. We did the very same thing - taking a controversial piece of news, just one article and blurb and expand on it for an hour of the show. This book made me wonder how many times we may have been wrong - or how many times other news media gets it wrong. Though I always tried to interview the sources, it wasn't always possible.

The lessons learned in this is be careful what you say and don't believe everything you hear. Some lessons are learned the hard way.

The story was about a boy named Philip Malloy and he got suspended for humming during the Natinal Anthem. The teacher Mrs.Narwin had asked him to stop the first time but Philip Malloy refused. I think that Mrs. Narwin should have waited till the end to tell him to stop, but instead she was interupting to. She asked him to stop but he still would'nt do it and finally the third time she asked him she sent him out of the room. Then the principal said that he could either say sorry or get a 2 day suspention. And Philip refused to say sorry so he got a 2 day suspention. They thought that that was a rule but the super adendent saod there was no rule agenst singing during the Natinal Anthem. Then the word got out and then philip got letters from other schools that said about how he could go to their scholl because they have nothing agenst singing. Then Mrs.Narwin got letters that were not true and quit her job and went to live with her sister.

A powerful topic and engaging format. A great read for any young adult.

This story isn't really about truth as much as it's about communication and integrity. The problem is that all the characters make multiple unnecessary mistakes and compound the problem, demonstrating only the wrong way to do things and never the right way. I wonder if young readers will understand this? I was amazed to find no positive role models. Even the victimized "heroine," Ms. Narwin, was strangely ineffectual, as were the "heroic" Philip and his parents. And worse, Avi paints with a cynical brush all characters involved in education politics and media. There is nothing profound or thought-provoking in this story; the "good, bad, and ugly" are obvious. Some young readers may benefit from obvious points, and as such this might work as a cautionary tale.

The book, Nothing But the Truth is about a boy named Phillip Malloy. He is a nice student that he likes to sing the Star Spangled Banner in the school. But there is a rule in school that students are not supposed to sing. Everybody thought that he was suspended for singing the Star Spangled Banner and there was a big misunderstanding because he wasn't suspended for singing, he was suspended because he was being disrespectful to the teacher.

I would recommend this book to all readers because the situation that is happening here could happen in real life. I recommend this book to students from Elementary School to High School students. This book will help you solve problems about your life and to respect teachers when they are talking to you. My favorite part was when he was humming the Star Spangled Banner because he thought that he wasn't loud but he was.