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Young Adult Fiction

Liar by Justine Larbalestier

by Benjamin Chandler
December 2009–January 2010, no. 317

Liar by Justine Larbalestier

Allen & Unwin, $22.99 pb, 330 pp

ABR receives a commission on items purchased through this link. All ABR reviews are fully independent.

The premise of Justine Larbalestier’s Liar is inherently problematic. When your young narrator admits to being a compulsive liar, the whole narrative threatens to degenerate into a fail-safe ending – it was all just a dream! Substitute ‘lie’ for ‘dream’. Thankfully, Micah Wilkins’s narration is so seductive that readers will find themselves devouring this book in an attempt to piece together the promised, if illusive, truth. Besides, this time Micah promises to tell us the whole truth, and why would she lie to us? That truth revolves around the death of Micah’s boyfriend, Zach. Or was it murder? For that matter, were they even dating, and did she see him the night of his death? Questions pile up alongside the lies, distracting us from the fact that sometimes the worst lies are those of omission.

 


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Liar

Liar by Justine Larbalestier

Allen & Unwin, $22.99 pb, 330 pp

ABR receives a commission on items purchased through this link. All ABR reviews are fully independent.


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