Micah is a liar. That is a fact. And the only thing you can be absolutely sure of in this dark, sexy thriller from Aussie author Larbalestier. For Micah, lying has become second nature, a way to distract herself from her outsider status, her parents’ indifference, the tiny NYC apartment that feels too small for her restless spirit. For Micah, there is only one truth. But it’s buried so deeply beneath all her lies she isn’t sure anyone would believe her if she ever found the courage to tell. “I am often in trouble. Mostly for things I have not done. I can’t expect to be believed. I am the girl who cried wolf.†Only two things calm her—running and spending time with her secret love Zach. Secret because he’s popular and she’s not. Secret because he has a real girlfriend who proudly calls him her own. But when Zach goes missing and later turns up dead, he and Micah’s relationship comes to unwelcome light. Suddenly Micah finds herself at the center of a storm of malicious gossip, unsubstantiated rumors and chilly silences. No one wants to find out what happened to Zach more than Micah, but to do so she’ll have to face some hard truths about herself, some of which are quite nasty indeed. Micah is a liar. That is a fact. But everything else in this suspenseful page-turner could be the truth or could be a lie, and it’s up to you, dear reader, to figure out which is which. With a surprise twist smack in the middle and a delightfully unreliable narrator, Liar is a delectably disturbing story from start to finish. My only complaint is the cover–the girl shown here looks nothing like the way Micah is described: half black and half white with short, curly hair. However, that’s small potatoes compared to how much I enjoyed this roller-coaster of a chill ride. (Editor’s Note: Shortly after this review and others were written, Justine’s publisher Bloomsbury decided to change the cover to more accurately reflect the narrator’s race.)
I have this in my to-read stack and it just moved waaay up. I was intrigued before but I can’t wait to read this now. Love love love unreliable narrators 😉 Thanks for the great review, Jen!
It’s hot, Lynn! You’re gonna love it!
i want to read it now! not have to wait until the fall- looks totally suspenseful!
The cover is just doing me in on this…what were they thinking? Amazing at how they thought this was a good image to protray such a story and author!
Shame, and tsk tsk…
Jen, I finally finished Liar and I know that I really loved how Micah talked about Zach and their relationship, how she missed him and how she wanted to find out what really happened, but other than that, I had trouble believing most of the book! What does that say about me? I usually give 4-5 stars for every book I read but the unreliability of Micah, her secret, her brother, her family—I really want to love it–but I have more questions than answers. Geez!
BJ, this just might not be the book for you. Never apologize for your reading taste. This is an unusual book to be sure, and it won’t be the perfect fit for everyone. It’s definitely more of a niche novel than mainstream.
Thanks Jen, I just thought it might be a great book for my reluctant readers and I don’t think it will be. We have Reading Olympics and those students love to read, I will put it into their hands and see what they say. BTW, I read Wish You Were Dead by Todd Strasser and I was uneasy with that book—I checked to see if you had read and reviewed it. I read it in 2 days, couldn’t put it down, but I was queasy with the deprivation (not usually like that either) to some of the teens who disappear. If you read it, let me know what you think. I know reluctant readers will love it, no problem there—just felt helpless with a truly evil presence……
LOL! I just finnished reading this like.. 5 mins ago? And this came up on stumble upon. ITS A GREAT BOOK!!!!