BOOK REVIEW: Liar
Title: Liar
Author: Justine Larbalestier
Micah lies about everything, but she swears that from now on, she's only telling the truth. That’s because her boyfriend Zack has been brutally murdered. Only they weren't really boyfriend and girlfriend. Zack was just cheating on his real girlfriend with Micah. And then there’s the whole issue of the family secret (or is it a curse?) that plagues Micah. How did Zack really die? What’s the truth behind the family secret? And how can you be sure that Micah is really telling the truth?
Liar is the second book I've read by Justine Larbalestier, the first one being How to Ditch Your Fairy. The first thing that struck me about Liar just how dramatically different it is from the lighthearted How to Ditch Your Fairy. Liar is a much darker, complex book that features an unreliable narrator. Like How to Ditch Your Fairy, the characters all attend a really unique school, and the story possesses a strong sense of place (this time around it’s New York City, not a fictional city). I think what I ended up liking the most about Liar was Micah herself. Under a lesser writer, our untrustworthy protagonist would have seemed frustrating and just plain unlikable, but I really grew to care for her over the duration of the novel, despite the fact that she occasionally does rotten things. The book also ends up reading little a puzzle. Only once you think you have the whole picture, you realize half the pieces are wrong. I do want to get into the twists and turns of this book a little more, so the next section of the review will involve spoilers. Please don’t click on the cut unless you want to be spoiled.
About halfway through the book you get your first big shocker: Micah is a werewolf and Zack was killed by another werewolf. Micah the liar is now Micah the hero who must find the other wolf and bring him to her family’s farm of werewolves for justice. But as you inch closer to the end, a third option is revealed. Maybe Micah is not a hero werewolf, but a perfectly human killer. Maybe it’s not a wolf side she’s hiding, but the heady emotions that are part of being a teenage girl. Maybe she’s telling us the story of Micah the hero to distract herself from the murder trial that she’s in the middle of. As far as what the true answer is, it’s kind of left up in the air. And despite the fact that the “Micah the killer” option is more realistic than the “Micah the werewolf” one I couldn't help but hope for the latter. As mentioned above, I found myself very fond of Micah by the end of the novel. I so desperately wanted a happy ending for her
Final Thoughts: I’m quite happy that I decided to read Liar by Justine Larbalestier. I found it a noticeable step up from How to Ditch Your Fairy, which was fun but a little annoying at times. I really enjoyed the unreliable narrator that is Micah and all the twists the book had to offer. I will be reading more books by Larbalestier in the future. Four and a Half Stars
Next I will be reviewing The Girl who Fell Beneath Fairyland and Led the Revels there by Catherynne M. Valente
Author: Justine Larbalestier
Micah lies about everything, but she swears that from now on, she's only telling the truth. That’s because her boyfriend Zack has been brutally murdered. Only they weren't really boyfriend and girlfriend. Zack was just cheating on his real girlfriend with Micah. And then there’s the whole issue of the family secret (or is it a curse?) that plagues Micah. How did Zack really die? What’s the truth behind the family secret? And how can you be sure that Micah is really telling the truth?
Liar is the second book I've read by Justine Larbalestier, the first one being How to Ditch Your Fairy. The first thing that struck me about Liar just how dramatically different it is from the lighthearted How to Ditch Your Fairy. Liar is a much darker, complex book that features an unreliable narrator. Like How to Ditch Your Fairy, the characters all attend a really unique school, and the story possesses a strong sense of place (this time around it’s New York City, not a fictional city). I think what I ended up liking the most about Liar was Micah herself. Under a lesser writer, our untrustworthy protagonist would have seemed frustrating and just plain unlikable, but I really grew to care for her over the duration of the novel, despite the fact that she occasionally does rotten things. The book also ends up reading little a puzzle. Only once you think you have the whole picture, you realize half the pieces are wrong. I do want to get into the twists and turns of this book a little more, so the next section of the review will involve spoilers. Please don’t click on the cut unless you want to be spoiled.
About halfway through the book you get your first big shocker: Micah is a werewolf and Zack was killed by another werewolf. Micah the liar is now Micah the hero who must find the other wolf and bring him to her family’s farm of werewolves for justice. But as you inch closer to the end, a third option is revealed. Maybe Micah is not a hero werewolf, but a perfectly human killer. Maybe it’s not a wolf side she’s hiding, but the heady emotions that are part of being a teenage girl. Maybe she’s telling us the story of Micah the hero to distract herself from the murder trial that she’s in the middle of. As far as what the true answer is, it’s kind of left up in the air. And despite the fact that the “Micah the killer” option is more realistic than the “Micah the werewolf” one I couldn't help but hope for the latter. As mentioned above, I found myself very fond of Micah by the end of the novel. I so desperately wanted a happy ending for her
Final Thoughts: I’m quite happy that I decided to read Liar by Justine Larbalestier. I found it a noticeable step up from How to Ditch Your Fairy, which was fun but a little annoying at times. I really enjoyed the unreliable narrator that is Micah and all the twists the book had to offer. I will be reading more books by Larbalestier in the future. Four and a Half Stars
Next I will be reviewing The Girl who Fell Beneath Fairyland and Led the Revels there by Catherynne M. Valente