A great story, especially for those of us who are compulsive and pathological liar's ourselves. With the truth, or what we percieve to be the truth, changing so often it is hard to grasp the truth in this book. It is a good book, in the end I am still unsure of what is lies and what is fact, but as Micah tells us early on..."fragments of the truth can often be found in lies." ( )

Micah is both a compulsive and pathological liar. By which I mean: Micah can not only help lying, even when there is no reason to do so, but she also lies to manipulate. She's also the narrator of Liar, which leads to the question: what does a reader do when the narrator cannot be trusted? Micah wants to tell the story of how her boyfriend, Zach, died. It's up to the reader to discern exactly how much truth is in the story--and exactly how much involvement Micah had in his death.

I've always been a fan of the unreliable narrator. Being forced to consider the biases of the narrator adds a new level to any story and the device has been used throughout literature. One of my favorite unreliable narrators is Coverdale from Nathaniel Hawthorne's Blithedale Romance. Coverdale doesn't tell the reader that he's lazy, a bit cowardly, and prone to choking at important times, but the reader knows regardless. That's the beauty of a well done unreliable narrator.

Justine Larbalestier's Liar takes the unreliable narrator way beyond the ordinary and pushes into the realm of something much more ambiguous. Micah, the narrator of Liar, not only omits the truth, she tells outright lies. In fact, Micah can be honestly described as both a compulsive liar (someone who lies spontaneously without realizing their own motives for lying--if they have any) and a pathological liar (someone who lies in order to manipulate those around them). Although Micah seems to be trying to tell the story of what happened as honestly as she can--at least at first--it isn't long before the reader is forced to wonder: "Is she lying to me now? What can I trust?"

Being a masochist, I liked having such a unique protagonist--even if I couldn't trust a word out of her mouth. Not every reader will be able to accept that he or she will never really know what happened in the story, because we're given only one narrator and the reader must be content with the clues given.

Personally, I have my own interpretation of what I believe to be the truth in Liar and I also have a separate opinion of what I would want to be the truth. The multiple available interpretations are what make the book so fun. Now, I can't explain my own interpretations, because it truly would ruin the many twists and turns in the book. Let me only say this: I originally wasn't going to review this book, but because of one particular element of Liar the book can be either viewed as fantasy/speculative fiction--or not--depending on how much you believe the narrator.

Overall, despite some rough edges, I really enjoyed reading Liar and recommend it to those of you who wish to give something a bit mind-boggling a try. And, of course, I'd love to hear your personal interpretations of the 'truth'!

It's a brain-teasing, crazy ride through the life--and lies--of a girl. I recommend this one to all readers who appreciate a well-done ambiguous novel. The protagonist is shifty and never quite what she seems. And always remember--one doesn't need to approve of a protagonist or his/her actions to enjoy a book! ( )

This book is very disturbing, unsettling and leaves you unsure. Even when you finish the book, so many lies have been told that Micah is the ultimate unreliable narrator. Is she a werewolf? Is she a killer? Can she control herself? Micah begins the book stating that while she has always been a liar, she is going to tell the truth in this book. But even then you never really trust the story she is telling, because she says that liars have a way of using part of the truth to make their stories seem real. She is a high school student who has been seeing a guy who already has a girlfriend when he is murdered. Maybe she has seen Zach that day, maybe she hasn’t – her story keeps changing. Micah’s story is multilayered and involves a lot of backtracking, so you have to pay attention. But you can’t help rushing through, too – I read it quickly, waiting for the moment when I would find out what had really happened. In the end, there’s still lots of unanswered questions, and that’s the way Micah is, so it is a authentic ending. ( )

Wonderfully written, Micah is both an incredibly frustrating and very sympathetic character. The plot moves quickly and I found that I couldn't put the book down.

Read this book! ( )

Micah lies almost constantly, to almost everyone. This is her attempt to tell her story without lying.

In many ways, this book was exactly what I was expecting. In other ways, it wasn't what I was expecting at all, and I feel struck by a sort of mental whiplash caused by trying to figure out and keep track of what was true and what wasn't.

It is skillfully written and utterly fascinating. ( )