Larbalestier, Justine: Liar
Liar (2009)
Written by: Justine Larbalestier
Genre: YA/Fiction
Pages: 371 (Hardcover)
Justine Larbalestier's work holds a special place in my heart. Her Magic or Madness was one of the very first YAs that I read, back when I was still afraid to set foot in that part of the store. Her critical texts on the science fiction genre, namely the woman's role in the genre, were a MUST for me, and they're a must too for anyone who wants to examine the genre with a critical and/or feminist eye. I'll admit that her How to Ditch Your Fairy never caught my attention, but Liar? That book has been on my radar since I first heard about it, and I've been both looking forward to and dreading reading this book because of all the great reviews (looking forward because the reviews have been great, dreading it because what if there's too much hype?).
The premise: ganked from BN.com: Micah will freely admit she’s a compulsive liar, but that may be the one honest thing she’ll ever tell you. Over the years she’s fooled everyone: her classmates, her teachers, even her parents. And she’s always managed to stay one step ahead of her lies. That is, until her boyfriend dies under brutal circumstances and her dishonesty begins to catch up with her. But is it possible to tell the truth when lying comes as easily as breathing?
Taking listeners deep into the psyche of a young woman who will say just about anything to convince them - and herself - that she’s finally come clean, Liar is a bone-chilling thriller that will have listeners seesawing between truths and lies right up to the end. Honestly.
Review style: short and sweet and ABSOLUTELY NO SPOILERS. You will RUIN this book if you spoil it for yourself, even if you spoil yourself a little bit.
I'm not going to bother with a cut either, because the whole lack of spoilers bit means I don't want tempt myself into giving something away. So listen up, because I'm going to tell you something REALLY IMPORTANT:
If you only read one YA novel in your lifetime, you should read Justine Larbalestier's LIAR.
Why?
1) It's well written: this isn't a YA novel that talks down to anyone, nor does it obsess over the teenage experience. It's one of those books that's so much about a single CHARACTER and her experience, however honest that may be, that it kind of transcends the audience label. Micah should fascinate readers of ALL ages, and that's largely due to Larbalestier's confidence and control of her craft. Plus, there's some really lovely passages in this book.
2) It's intellectually engaging: you have to pay attention in this book, because Micah is a chronic liar, and the part of the joy and game of reading this is trying to figure out when she's being honest and when she's telling the truth. The actual structure of the book isn't linear either, which makes it more fun to put together. Don't get me wrong, it's not so complex that it's difficult to follow, but if you're looking for a beach-read, you need to look elsewhere.
3) It transcends genre. This book is what you want it to be. Micah's a liar, but there's some truth to what she's saying. People can walk away from this book with wildly different interpretations, and because the author refuses to define the book for us, all of those wildly different interpretations are RIGHT.
4) Micah's a great character: so what if she's a chronic liar? Her voice, her experiences, make you really feel for her. There are some times you know she's lying and you wish she weren't, and there are times she ISN'T lying and you wish she was. The thing is, Micah's a character to root for, because you want to see her happy in spite of what's happened and what you think happened, and I don't know too many characters of that ilk. I mean, a compulsive liar is lovable. Who knew?
5) The details are FABULOUS. That's all I'm going to say about that. But Justine Larbalestier, if you see this review? THE DETAILS WERE FABULOUS. I absolutely LOVE what she came up with.
That's all I'm going to say about it. No, I'm not kidding. Here's the summary:
My Rating
Keeper Shelf: there are very, very, VERY few books that I want to keep around to re-read over and over and over, but this is definitely one of them. The book engaged me on so many levels that I can't wait to read it again and see how the story changes. And because of the book's deliberate yet delightful ambiguity, this is a book I can enjoy over and over and come away with a different interpretation every time. If you're a reader who absolutely MUST HAVE a DEFINITE ENDING with DEFINITE ANSWERS, you may want to shy away from this one. But oh, that'd be a shame. This book is so well-crafted that you'd be missing out on a really great story. Like I said, whether you read YA or not, if you only ever read ONE novel in your life that's targeted to YA, you should read this one. Because it transcends age. It transcends genre. It's a memorable book that I won't soon forget, and once you read it, you won't either.
Cover Commentary: ah, the infamous cover debacle! You can read about it here and see the original white!girl! cover, which in and of itself is lovely, but oh so TOTALLY WRONG for this book. Because if there's one thing to hold true, Micah doesn't lie about her race, and to suggest otherwise is to put the WRONG SPIN on the book. You have to believe she's telling the absolute truth about SOME things in order to engage in the lies, and if you think she's lying about her skin color, then you're not going to make it past the first page. So the switch to a more appropriate model is PERFECT. Granted, some will complain the model doesn't resemble Micah very much (Micah describes herself as having much shorter hair, but her skin color is more ambiguous, I thought: she has a black dad (who has white grandparents) and a white mom, so Micah's actual skin color isn't, well, black or white. That said, if there's a specific description of color I missed, let me know where, okay?), but I'm so happy the publishers changed the cover that I could pee in my pants like an excited little dog. Okay, maybe not QUITE like that, but you know what I mean, right? ;)
Next up: The Christmas List by Richard Paul Evans