Justine Larbalestier

Justine Larbalestier's brilliant CBCA short-listed YA novel has a truly compelling unreliable narrator who will have readers guessing until the very last page, and beyond...

Liar

The ultimate unreliable narrator takes readers on a thrill ride in this highly acclaimed novel. Prepare to grasp for truth until the very last page. Micah is a liar. That's the one thing she won't lie about. Over the years, she's duped her classmates, her teachers, and even her parents. But when her boyfriend Zach dies under brutal circumstances, Micah sets out to tell the truth. At first the truth comes easily. Other truths are so unbelievable, so outside the realm of normal, they must be a lie. And the honest truth is buried so deep in Micah's mind even she doesn't know if it's real. "Readers will get chills . . . [and] be guessing and theorizing long after they've finished this gripping story." -Publishers Weekly, starred review "[Micah's] suspenseful, supernatural tale is engrossing. . . . The chilling story she spins will have readers' hearts racing." -School Library Journal, starred review "An engrossing story of teenage life on the margins." -Kirkus Reviews, starred review An ALA Best Book for Young Adults A School Library Journal Best Book of the Year A Kirkus Reviews Best Young Adult Book of 2009

Janice Hopper

Well, this book was a bit unexpected.

I first knew about the book from the white-washed cover image controversy a few years ago. I remember reading that it was a good book aside from that. And that the narrator was very unreliable.

Boy howdy.

Micah is the eponymous liar of the story. Throughout the story we never know how much of what she's telling us is true or not true. There are some "revelations" in the middle of the book that I personally thought made a lot of sense, given what was happening in the story. But with a narrator as unreliable as this one, who knows if what she's saying is true or not?

I don't really like stories with unreliable narrators that much, but this one was ok. This misfit child is trying to find a way to live, to fit in SOMEHOW. Maybe it was all confabulation on her part, but it made sense to me in a twisted sort of way.

I understand why this book is problematic for a lot of people. I thought it was well-written and interesting. YMMV.

Micah Wilkins admits she's a liar. But will murder be enough of a reason to stop lying? An extraordinary and original story that will have you grasping for the truth until the very last page.

Sarah Jackson

It was going so well... and then she mentioned werewolves and it went all downhill