The Safest Lies

"A little lie. A white lie.
The safest lie."

Wow, what a great page turner! I read this all in one sitting with little distractions - which was perfect because it would have been hard to put down.

It's an interesting question this book asks - Fear - can it be inherited in your genes and DNA or is it only completely through environmental factors. If your parents are afraid, do you only pick up their fear through their actions - or do you adopt their fear of smell and/or feeling too?

Kelsey's world is ruled by fear. Not her own, that rarely touches her world, but her mother's. She knows to start looking for exits once she enters and room and to assess the dangers quickly. To know to run, hide, get away - at all cost, survive. And always make show more it back to the safety of home.

The twists and turns were wonderful to read through and I liked the side characters that were added to the fray when things were going down. They added the humor but also the sane element and left you wondering who was telling the truth - your narrator or others? I'm so glad I gave this one a try. show less

What about children of those various women kidnapped and then held in captivity until they are released or they escape. How do they deal with their mother's history or do they?

This was a great plot and well told. It bordered on the melodrama and threatened to go into the i-don't-know-nothin-bout-birthin-no-babies mode of heroine as victim. But, ultimately it did not. I'm not sure, however, I'll race out and read any more of her novels.

One of those books that starts off with a bang when Kelsey is driving home from school and she suddenly blacks out and finds herself hanging over a cliff! There's a boy from her Math class Ryan talking to her - he's climbed inside the car to rescue her because he is a volunteer firefighter and thought he'd be able to get her out. Kelsey is mad at herself because she thinks she wasn't concentrating. She has been taught by her mother to always be careful because she is the product of her mother's teenage kidnapping. When her mum was 16 she disappeared and then reappeared pregnant with Kelsey and no memory of what happened to her! Since then, she and Kelsey have lived in a fortress with alarms and even a panic room inside to protect them. show more Kelsey has just convinced her mum to allow her to go to normal high school and not be home schooled so the car accident means she is under strict curfew. Nevertheless, she slips out one night to see Ryan and when she gets home the doors are unlocked, the phones don't work, her mum is gone and there are two men coming up the driveway...
She and Ryan lock themselves in the panic room. Kelsey knows that what her mum feared for 17 years has finally come true.
First part of the novel is very suspenseful and quite good. It moves at a fast pace. I thought the author could have left out all the romance though as it didn't really enhance the plot. MATURE READS. show less

For seventeen years, Kelsey Thomas’s mother has sought refuge in her home; she hasn’t ventured outside since she escaped from kidnappers and she’s raised her daughter to see danger everywhere. Kelsey keeps a low profile, stays far away from social media; after years of homeschooling, she traded the security of her home for the relative freedom of the local high school.

But an automobile accident places her squarely in the spotlight and, a few days later, she returns home to find all the alarms disabled, the gates and doors unlocked, and her mother missing. Can Kelsey unravel the secrets of the past before it’s too late?

This Young Adult novel, focused for grades seven through ten, explores the consequences of years spent show more instilling a sense of fear in a child, of complicated safety rules, of always thinking ahead. While it might seem a bit over the top that a mother would raise her child in this way, the introspective nature of the story allows readers to understand Kelsey’s fears as well as her finely-honed-over-time ability to react in a way that will lead to safety.

The characters are believable and fully drawn; having one of Kelsey’s classmates serve as a member of the volunteer fire department is a nice plot twist that highlights teens volunteering in their communities as it offers a nod of recognition to the many towns that count on volunteers to man their local fire departments.

Over time, Kelsey has come to realize that sometimes a lie is the better answer and she occasionally chooses the safer lie over the reality. As the plot twists and turns, readers may find some predictable moments, but the web of “safe” lies and the truth that has endangered Kelsey’s life make for a tension-filled page-turner that readers will find hard to set aside.

Recommended. show less

17-year-old Kelsey has grown up in a fortress of sorts. Her mother, after being kidnapped & then escaping while pregnant (with Kelsey), relocates & lives in a house with extensive gates & alarms to protect both Kelsey and herself from the outside world. Kelsey's mother has not left the house since Kelsey's birth. Kelsey, homeschooled until only fairly recently, attends the local high school but her past is virtually unknown to her peers. When she is involved in a fairly high-profile automobile accident, she suddenly finds herself in the spotlight. Shortly after, her mother disappears from their home suddenly and unexpectedly, and Kelsey is left to figure out what happened, while in the meantime gradually discovering secrets she never show more knew existed.

I didn't realize until after finishing this and reading some other reviews that this was a young adult novel. Despite many of the main characters being teens, it didn't particularly read like a young adult novel, but rather like a typical thriller. It was a quick and fast-paced read, one which I finished on audio in just a few days of commuting. Overall, I really enjoyed this one. show less

When I first was introduced to Megan Miranda it was with All the Missing Girls and The Perfect Stranger, the second being an ARC, and I was instantly enamored with her style of writing. So, when I heard about this book, I requested it my library. Once I got it, I could not wait to read it and once I started, I was hooked.

This book follows a teen named Kelsey Thomas, who lives with her mother, who suffers from agoraphobia and severe anxiety. Having survived her own kidnapping seventeen years earlier, she has refused to leave her home for anything. She orders groceries and essentials online, she works from home, and the only time Kelsey leaves is school and work. Living with such fear and paranoia has taken its toll on Kelsey as much as show more her mother. When she meets Ryan, after being helped during a time of crisis, they begin to date. Things take a turn when she comes home to find her mom missing. As she tries to find out what happened, with Ryan by her side, she begins to discover the truth behind her mother's disappearance, kidnapping, and everything in between.

This book was mysterious, thrilling, and emotional. I found myself sympathizing with Kelsey as she struggled with her own fears and anxiety. Some of her mannerisms and symptoms are something I am all to familiar with, as I suffer from anxiety, as well as depression. Her need to always have a way out of any situation, finding all the available exits, is something I too am always looking for. Especially is social situations, where I tend to have the most anxiety.

If you enjoyed Megan Miranda's other books and haven't read this one, Read it. Like now. show less

Another first rate thriller from Megan Miranda with a good bit of teenage romance. The story deals with the emotion of fear, but it is a very visual read. The scenes are written so that you almost think you've seen a movie.