Liar

by Justine Larbalestier
348 pages

Telling the truth has never been so hard

***Spoiler Alert***

From Goodreads:

Micah will freely admit that she’s a compulsive liar, but that may be the one honest thing she’ll ever tell you. Over the years she’s duped her classmates, her teachers, and 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 naturally as breathing? Taking readers 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 readers see-sawing between truths and lies right up to the end. Honestly.

I was really hooked on this book for the first part, and then things got a little strange. I purposely gave you the goodreads synopsis so that you can see nowhere in there dose it indicate that there is also a little fantasy in this book, well the truth is Micah is actually a werewolf. Yep, that is her big secret and the author expects you to guess that? The only clue was that she was born with a condition that gave her thick hair all over her body.

I hate when books exclude huge aspects of the plot from the book jacket. No little hints or secret meanings, the cover art didn't give any clues, and no subject headings saying "werewolf fiction". The least a book could do is be upfront. I went into this expecting something totally different than what it was. And the worst part is I enjoyed the part without all the silly werewolf stuff. Now I did like the book overall, but I just really didn't think there needed to be werewolves. The story was so well developed without that. Now I am a huge fantasy fan and normally I wouldn't mind this, but I was just a little peeved that I was reading this book under false pretenses.

Don't get me wrong, even if I didn't enjoy the second half of the book as much I did still like it. I thought it was well written, original and well developed. The way the book was written with "before" "after" and "family history" sections make it a unique read and added to the overall effect. I loved the realistic look at the problems facing a mixed race teen in New York City. Even though Micah is a compulsive liar (as the narrator she is constantly lying to the reader) she is likable and most importantly relatable. It is easy to understand some times why she lies. Micah is a different kind of free spirit.

The ending was another part of the book I haven't made up my mind about. In one way we do see Micah accomplishing the things she always wanted and the chance to be honest about who she really is, but other than that the story is completely unresolved. There are many questions left unanswered, but for me that was OK, because who knows if we are even supposed to believe any of the end is true or not.

The verdict is: Don't miss this one, really interesting and different although you will most likely love or hate it.