All the Truth That's in Me

Published in 2013, All the Truth That's in Me is a young adult historical fiction novel by Julie Berry. Set in a non-specific time frame in the fictional Puritan village of Roswell Station, the story follows eighteen-year-old Judith, who was kidnapped but returned two years later with her tongue cut out, as she struggles to regain her voice. Berry is an award-winning author of children's fiction. All the Truth That’s in Me was named a Kirkus Reviews Best Teen Read for 2013 and a Junior Library Guild Selection.

Four years ago, two girls went missing from the village of Roswell Station. One, fifteen-year-old Lottie Pratt, washed up in the river, naked and strangled to death. The other, fourteen-year-old Judith Finch, was not seen for two years. However, since the day she returned with her tongue cut out and claiming no memory of what happened to her, Judith has been treated as a pariah. They say she has been cursed by the devil.

Things are no better at home. Her brother Darrel calls her "Worm," and her mother forbids her from attempting to speak because she is ashamed of the clumsy sounds Judith's mutilated tongue makes. The one bright spot in Judith's life is twenty-two-year-old Lucas Whiting, whom she has loved since she was a child. She has long dreamed of marrying Lucas, but now her status in the village makes it improper. Besides that, he is engaged to Maria Johnson, the prettiest girl in the village.



Judith recalls the two years she went missing. She was abducted by Erza Whiting, Lucas' father who is presumed dead, and forced to stay with him in his hidden cabin. Though she tried to escape, he always caught her, until one day, he decided to send her home. First, he cut her tongue out, saying that silence would save her. Then he threatened to kill her family should she ever reveal what happened to her.

One day, invading ships are spotted approaching the coastline. The village knows they are outnumbered, but they rally all the men and boys that they can and prepare to go to war against the invaders. Distraught that both Lucas and Darrel may be killed in the battle, Judith recalls that Erza had large stores of gunpowder in his hidden cabin. She visits him and makes a deal: if he will help the villagers win the battle, she will stay and be his wife. He eagerly agrees, riding to the coast with Judith behind him.

When the villagers see Erza and Judith at the battle, they begin making connections between the girl who will not tell where she was and the man long thought dead. However, Ezra turns the tides of the battle in their favor; he is killed in the process. During the battle, Darrel accidentally shoots himself in the foot.



As the villagers return to Roswell Station, Maria runs to them. However, she goes not to Lucas, but to a young man named Leon, revealing her true affections. Lucas is embarrassed and heartbroken, as well as confused by the appearance of his father. Gossip begins to spread in the village that Lucas was in league with his father and was concealing his disappearance.

Meanwhile, Darrel's foot grows worse and is eventually amputated. The family was poor before, but now that he can no longer help with farm work, things are even worse. Judith does all that she can, but she often hears someone following her. She remembers the night that Lottie was strangled. The culprit was not Erza, but a man in a hat. She never saw his face.

As he recovers, Darrel decides to return to school. If he cannot help on the farm, he is determined to find work as a scholar. Their mother forbids it, but Judith and Darrel strike a bargain: if he will help her learn to read and write, she will attend school with him.



Judith's relationship with Lucas remains rocky, though he is always kind. When snow falls, he offers to take Judith and Darrel to and from school in his wagon. School is a nightmare for Judith. Not only do the other students openly mock her, the schoolmaster, Mr. Gillis, sexually harasses her. He is drawn to her muteness and the idea that she is no longer a virgin. When he sees that Lucas is giving her rides to school, he becomes jealous.

One day, Maria (who is now Mrs. Leon Cartwright) invites Judith to her house for tea. Unlike the other villagers, she is not afraid of Judith's impediment, and the two become friends. Maria encourages Judith to relearn to speak, using the part of her tongue that she has left.

One day, Lucas learns that the men of the village plan to search out his father's hidden cabin. He wants to see it first, so Judith tells him where it is. However, it turns out to be a trap set by Mr. Gillis. The men follow Lucas to the cabin and arrest him. At the trial, Lucas is sentenced for aiding his father, and Judith is convicted of sexual misconduct.



As they spend three hours in the stocks, they confess their love for each other. Then Judith asks a kindly old woman to summon the villagers because she is finally ready to tell what happened to her. She explains that she witnessed Lottie's murder, and when the murderer turned on Judith, Erza intervened. Erza was mad, but he kidnapped her to save her from the murderer who still lives in the village. And, contrary to what everyone thinks, he molested her but never raped her.

Lottie was murdered by her own father when he found out that she was intending to elope with her boyfriend. Now cleared of all wrongdoing, Lucas announces that he and Judith are going to appear before the reverend the next day to be married.