There Will Be Lies

Publisher's Blurb:
"Shelby Jane Cooper is seventeen, pretty and quiet. It's just Shelby and her mom, Shaylene, a court stenographer who wears pyjama jeans, stitches tapestry, eats ice-cream for dinner and likes to keep Shelby safe. So safe she barely goes out. So safe she doesn't go to school. Because anything could happen, to a girl like Shelby. Anything.
When Shelby gets knocked down by a car, it's not just her leg that's broken: Shelby's world is shattered. Her mom turns up to collect her and drives off into the night, like it's the beginning of a road trip, like two criminals on the run, like Thelma and Louise or Bonnie and Clyde. And somehow, everywhere she looks, there's a coyote watching her, talking to her, telling her not to show more believe.
Who is Shelby Jane Cooper? If the person who keeps you safe also tells you lies, who can you trust?"

My comments:
This book had an awesome premise which was stuffed around by the author going all "Life of Pi" in parts where Shelby dreams/ hallucinates/ experiences another world with a wolf and a crying baby which are blatant metaphors for her inner past trying to reach out and tell her the truth about her existence. I skipped all that bit and concentrated on the real story which was great. SPOILER ALERT: Shelby was stolen by a woman from a hospital when she was just a baby and this woman has kept her a secret for 17 years by homeschooling her, constantly moving towns and making her believe that the whole world is out to get her. When the whole ruse comes to light and Shelby is finally returned to her parents, the author has looked at the "after" that so many of the kidnap/hostage/ cult stories don't delve into - how difficult it is for someone to be something they are not. I would have given this 4.5 stars if it hadn't been for the stupid wolf subplot. show less

I have mixed feelings about this book. I had mixed feelings while I was reading and this is what took me so long to get through it. I would be really enjoying it, then the perspective would switch and I would feel the story drag and usually I would just put it down because I couldn’t be bothered. I’m not normally such a lazy reader, but this book made me one.

There Will Be Lies is the story of Shelby Cooper, 17 years old and homeschooled by an overprotective mother. Every day is the same, except for Fridays when they go to the batting cage, have ice cream for dinner and Shelby goes to the library. Until a car accident changes up their routine and sends them on the run, with Shelby dipping in and out of a strange new world that is show more known as the Dreaming. As she struggles to define what is reality and what is Dreaming, Shelby is left questioning everything she thought she knew about herself.

So what did I love about this book? I loved the mystery of Shelby’s origins, of who her mother really was, why they had to run. There were so many twists and turns and LIES and it’s fantastic. They take off into the middle of Arizona with only a rushed explanation but is it true? Is anything true? This part of the story had me turning the pages (not quite literally – it was on the ereader) and I couldn’t unravel the mystery quick enough. It was this part that was addictive and compulsive reading. It was awesome! I only wish that the whole book could have been like this. I really liked Shelby’s character, too – her inner dialogue was snarky and funny and entertaining to read when it could have been annoying.

So what didn’t I love about this book? The Dreaming. It just felt so forced and unrealistic and just….boring. I was bored. The Dreaming chapters, which had its basis on Native American culture, was where the book really slowed for me and towards the end of the book it was getting to the point of insufferable. It was about a Coyote and a Crone and a Child (all capitalised, mind you) and while I got the symbolism, it didn’t feel necessary. The whole book could have been done, and maybe even done better, without it. It didn’t feel magical or other-worldly the way it was supposed to, it just dragged on, without answers and felt ridiculous to read. Can something feel ridiculous to read? Because that seems like the best way to describe it.

It’s so hard to get through a book like this, when half of it is riveting and the other half drags along. When you can tell this book could have been really great, but it’s not. I didn’t hate it but it was hard to get through, and even though the mystery was intense, the trips into the Dreaming detracted from it and lost my interest.

3 stars. Wish I could have loved it more. show less

One of the most unique storytellers I have ever encountered! Enthralling, emotional, shocking, flippant and twisted - there is no other story out there, right now, that can compare...

First, I have to point out, the writing style is very, very different than what I am used to. Conversations are either in italics or told in third person. It was odd at first, but very necessary. I don't see how the author could have helped Shelby tell her story without taking this route. It didn't take very long to get used to this method of writing, it actually made it more interesting and hard to put down...
Next, there is also a fantasy element to the story. A sort of dream-like state. It is hard to explain without spoilers, but, every single moment show more that we get to witness these events are crucial moments to Shelby's state of mind. It is quite amazing to have been able to go along with her and really see and feel the upheaval of her emotions, the denial that she was living in...
Lastly, I was amazed that the book didn't finished when I expected it to. It would have been typical to leave off at a certain point and I was a bit confused to see that there was still over 200 pages left to read. There are not enough words to describe how astonished I was to get to continue on with Shelby to the very, very end of her story - watch her grow, learn, give in to her demons and then slowly come to terms to her harsh realities. The girl starts out broken, and I got to not only watch her break and fall apart, but shatter into a billion little pieces. And then be able to look on as she slowly chooses which pieces to pick up and start putting her life together was such an unbelievable experience. Every single little detail is so precise and necessary; although at points it did make certain elements predictable, but, without the particulars, it still made very moment astonishing and jaw-dropping. I don't think I would have been able to fully understand Shelby. I would not have been able to stick by her side and see her through.

THERE WILL BE LIES is Shelby's powerfully sad story.

Shelby is an over-protected seventeen year old girl who has been home-schooled by her single mother her entire life. As a lock and key child, Shelby has been taught to not trust anyone, especially men, and that only her mother can help and protect her. Shelby not knowing anything different, doesn't question her mother's teachings or behavior. But as any typical teen, she longs for friendship and dreams of going to college someday; which leads to her occasionally trying to convince her mother to do things outside of their norm, but rarely ever wins that argument.
When Shelby is hit by a car, her life comes to a sudden halt. She sees a coyote that gives her a warning: there will be two lies, and then the truth.
When Shelby wakes up in the hospital, she thinks that the coyote was just a dream that was brought about by her injuries... when her mother starts acting differently, asking odd questions and then rushes Shelby out of the hospital like their lives depended on it - Shelby knows that nothing that is happening is normal. But, she trusts her mom. And denial becomes her best friend.
Coyote visits again. More lies. More twisted truths.
Coyote.
Lies.
Shelby is lost. And all she wants to do is stop time and go back to when things were the way the way before. It may have not been normal or right. But it was familiar.. and safe.

I highly recommend this to those of you that are looking for something to read that is out of their element - a book that will force you to read inbetween the lines, to fully take the time to understand and see situations through another person's eyes. There is a good chance that you will experience emotions for characters that you never thought were possible. This will not be an easy quick read - Shelby deserves more than that.

*An ARC was sent to me from the publisher for an honest review. All thoughts are my own. show less

What pleasure. So many questions as you start reading and, with craftsmanlike plotting, the answers are slowly revealed. Plot twists abound. Each one an ‘Ahah’ moment for the reader. Part adventure, part mystery, part quest. In the end, everything neatly resolved. So well done.

My local library slots this into Young Adult (the protagonist is 17), but it deserves adult readers. I’m 72!

I liked this book more than I expected I would. It is chock full of symbolism and metaphors presented in an interesting way. I grew attached to the characters, who at first turned me off. I enjoyed the suspense of the "real world" story and really appreciated its resolution.

I really enjoyed the mystery of Shelby, but I was really bored during the Dreaming sections. I think the book would have been interesting without the Dreaming parts, and I think the author still could have worked in the rescue of the girl, perhaps as just a normal dream sequence. Wanted to like it more, but had to push myself to finish it just because I wanted to know how it was going to end. The Coyote was interesting, the Crone was predictable, and the Child I guessed from the very first mention of her. Could have done without all of them.

I saw the end coming a mile away but with the lyrical writing, likable main character, and plot twists a hard to put down book.