Liar by Justine Larbalestier - Book Giveaway!
This will be the 3rd or 4th time I have mentioned this book on this LJ. That is because I am sort of obsessed with it. So much that, at the end of this post, I am giving it away.
This is an impossible book to review fully without spoiling, but it's one you really, really don't want to be spoiled for. (There's also a great, concise and spoiler-free review here at Shelf Elf.)
Liar is an extremely intense, compelling, riveting and horrible psychological journey through a young girl's mind. By "journey," I mean, "one of those twisty spiraly amusement park chutes of death." The kind that, when you finally tumble out on the other side, leave you so you don't know which way is up, or whether you are upside down, or who you are, or where you are, or what the fuck, or anything.
That's exactly what this book feels like. And is another reason why those of us who've read it are dying to talk about it.
I think you'll love Liar if:
- you liked books like Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher, Lessons from a Dead Girl by Jo Knowles, Paper Towns by John Green, The Hate List by Jennifer Brown, or The Life of Pi by Yann Martel
- you love movies with unreliable narrators like Memento or The Usual Suspects.
- you love stories that aren't afraid to get dark; you love mysteries, horror, and suspense.
- you're someone who has ever worked with troubled kids or been a troubled kid yourself.
Liar is about a troubled teenage girl growing up in modern NYC. Her name is Micah, and she's amazing. She's also a compulsive liar. On top of the trouble that her lying causes her, like any other teenager, she has a revolving cycle of family problems, guy problems, and friendship problems.
With a twist.
Liar is not an easy or a painless book to read. You may come away from it troubled and dazed and maybe angry, and maybe amazed (I did). It is powerful and haunting, and you spend half the book just trying to make sense of the truths and lies that Micah weaves together, only to turn any given page and have your feet completely knocked out from underneath you.
But Liar is also easily the best depiction of the psychology of a troubled teen that I have ever read. Our narrator, Micah herself, is so unreliable that she doesn't even understand herself. Much like Thirteen Reasons Why, Liar doesn't sugarcoat, offer rosy promises, or even pretend to understand. And that, to me, is why Liar is probably the most important work of YA fiction that I've read this year. I wish I could go back and give every one of the probation kids I used to tutor a copy. Because it's not just YA, or science fiction, or whatever it thinks it is, if it even knows.
It's the most unlikely thing of all you'd expect to find in a book called Liar:
It's truth.
_____
You can buy Liar at indiebound.org or your local independent bookseller. Again, do not spoil yourself for this book. You can also enter the free giveaway in this post!
What to do when you've read the book & want to talk about it:
- please join ithiliana's Spoiler Thread to talk about the plot of this book. This is a spoiler zone so do not click over unless you've read the book. Ithiliana's review is excellent, and I really hope we can get a discussion going about the book. For the purposes of keeping all the discussion to one place, this post is a spoiler-free zone. To talk about spoilers, go here.
- head over to the author's spoiler thread on her own website to read what people are saying about Liar from around the internet. Again, this is a spoiler zone so do not click over unless you've read the book.
- please please talk about Liar with meeeee! Because I really want to discuss it with people. Feel free to DM me or just comment to me on ithiliana's post! :D
______
Finally, because I love Liar so much and want everyone else to experience it, I'm giving away a free copy. To win a copy of Liar, comment to this post! :D
Please include an email address where I can reach you in your comment. :) Remember, no spoilers!
You may enter the drawing up until Monday, Oct. 19th, at 12:00 pm EST. At that point, I will close the entry and announce the winner.
ETA: This contest is now CLOSED! Congratulations to the winner, whimseywisp! :D
This is an impossible book to review fully without spoiling, but it's one you really, really don't want to be spoiled for. (There's also a great, concise and spoiler-free review here at Shelf Elf.)
Liar is an extremely intense, compelling, riveting and horrible psychological journey through a young girl's mind. By "journey," I mean, "one of those twisty spiraly amusement park chutes of death." The kind that, when you finally tumble out on the other side, leave you so you don't know which way is up, or whether you are upside down, or who you are, or where you are, or what the fuck, or anything.
That's exactly what this book feels like. And is another reason why those of us who've read it are dying to talk about it.
I think you'll love Liar if:
- you liked books like Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher, Lessons from a Dead Girl by Jo Knowles, Paper Towns by John Green, The Hate List by Jennifer Brown, or The Life of Pi by Yann Martel
- you love movies with unreliable narrators like Memento or The Usual Suspects.
- you love stories that aren't afraid to get dark; you love mysteries, horror, and suspense.
- you're someone who has ever worked with troubled kids or been a troubled kid yourself.
Liar is about a troubled teenage girl growing up in modern NYC. Her name is Micah, and she's amazing. She's also a compulsive liar. On top of the trouble that her lying causes her, like any other teenager, she has a revolving cycle of family problems, guy problems, and friendship problems.
With a twist.
Liar is not an easy or a painless book to read. You may come away from it troubled and dazed and maybe angry, and maybe amazed (I did). It is powerful and haunting, and you spend half the book just trying to make sense of the truths and lies that Micah weaves together, only to turn any given page and have your feet completely knocked out from underneath you.
But Liar is also easily the best depiction of the psychology of a troubled teen that I have ever read. Our narrator, Micah herself, is so unreliable that she doesn't even understand herself. Much like Thirteen Reasons Why, Liar doesn't sugarcoat, offer rosy promises, or even pretend to understand. And that, to me, is why Liar is probably the most important work of YA fiction that I've read this year. I wish I could go back and give every one of the probation kids I used to tutor a copy. Because it's not just YA, or science fiction, or whatever it thinks it is, if it even knows.
It's the most unlikely thing of all you'd expect to find in a book called Liar:
It's truth.
_____
You can buy Liar at indiebound.org or your local independent bookseller. Again, do not spoil yourself for this book. You can also enter the free giveaway in this post!
What to do when you've read the book & want to talk about it:
- please join ithiliana's Spoiler Thread to talk about the plot of this book. This is a spoiler zone so do not click over unless you've read the book. Ithiliana's review is excellent, and I really hope we can get a discussion going about the book. For the purposes of keeping all the discussion to one place, this post is a spoiler-free zone. To talk about spoilers, go here.
- head over to the author's spoiler thread on her own website to read what people are saying about Liar from around the internet. Again, this is a spoiler zone so do not click over unless you've read the book.
- please please talk about Liar with meeeee! Because I really want to discuss it with people. Feel free to DM me or just comment to me on ithiliana's post! :D
______
Finally, because I love Liar so much and want everyone else to experience it, I'm giving away a free copy. To win a copy of Liar, comment to this post! :D
Please include an email address where I can reach you in your comment. :) Remember, no spoilers!
You may enter the drawing up until Monday, Oct. 19th, at 12:00 pm EST. At that point, I will close the entry and announce the winner.
ETA: This contest is now CLOSED! Congratulations to the winner, whimseywisp! :D