Liar

I liked what the author did with the concept of "werewolves." Her story and her characters were interesting, although I didn't find any of them likable. However, it was yet ANOTHER teen book suffering from an air of doom and gloom. I am so weary of this quality and find that it is all too common. We need more balanced stories about teenagers and their experience of the world. ( )

I don't think I'm any closer to figuring out Micah. I still don't know exactly what she was telling the truth about and I have so many questions. I keep forgetting that she's not a real person, and I'll never be able to ask her exactly what happened. I believe, without a doubt, that she's killed, I'm just not sure who she's killed. Perhaps her brother, Jordon? Ugh, this book made/ makes my brain itch! If I had the time, I might re-read it just to try to figure out the clues Micah leaves behind. If you're looking for a book that will REALLY keep you questioning things to the very end this is THAT book. Justine Larbalestier should write murder mysteries because she would be fantastic at it, and I don't think anyone would ever figure out who the murderer is. ( )

I first heard of Liar when everyone was talking about the controversy surrounding the original cover. I filed it away in the back of my mind, thinking of picking the book up when it came out. I was reminded of it recently when friends started to talk about it again -- through having read it, now -- and put it on my last minute Christmas list. Cue me getting it in the mail yesterday, and being almost unable to resist the lure of the first page, which starts with the hook, "I was born with a light covering of fur."

If you don't enjoy unreliable narrators, step away right now. Micah is as unreliable as you can get, and the whole book peels back -- or layers on -- more of her lies.

For the first part of the book, it could be the story of a normal teenager -- one who has had bad things happen to her, and who is a loner, yes, but one who is essentially like those around her. It doesn't stay like that, though: if you're not a fan of fantastical elements, you probably want to step back now.

The thing with this book is that there are at least two ways of reading it. It's a delicate balance to walk, but Larbalestier does, in my opinion, walk it well. It wasn't wholly unpredictable, but I have been spoiled a little by reading other people's reviews. If you can, and this book sounds interesting to you, then try to go into it knowing as little as possible -- just knowing that Micah is a liar (not a spoiler: it's in the title).

The other thing that pleased me was the fact that the book has non-white characters -- chiefly non-white characters, in fact -- and LGBT content, plus a generally sex-positive attitude. There's totally non-explicit sexual references, there's an understanding of teenagers feeling and dealing with desire, and I didn't get a 'sex is bad, hush, we don't talk about sex' vibe from it.

(It irks me that there are likely people reading this review thinking, 'I'd better not give this to my teenage daughter.' There's nothing in this that would have damaged my fragile fourteen year old psyche. It's just people.)

I realise this doesn't tell you much about how I, personally, felt about this book: I read it within the space of an afternoon, and kept stopping myself after every fifty pages so I could drag it out more and enjoy it for that bit longer. When I put it down, I already had a list of people I want to recommend it to. ( )

A good example of unreliable witness as narrator, but to get almost halfway into it and then have the whole werewolf thing pop up was just odd. The writing can be fragmented at times, and Pete's voice never seemed real to me. Interesting precepts, but not compelling. ( )

I love a book where I don't know the end at the end. ( )