Liar by Justine Larbalestier 2009Rating: 5/5
IQ "Yet that's not the worst danger of being a liar. Oh no. Much worse than discovery, than their sense of betrayal, is when you start to believe your own lies, When it all blurs together. You lose track of what's real and what's not. You start to feel as if you make the world with your words. Your lies get stranger and weirder and denser, get bigger than words, turn into worlds, become real. You feel powerful, invincible." pg. 217
It took me a while to finish this book (I got it on my birthday back in September, but I finished it in October). However, the lateness of this review is not at all related to the quality of this book. Liar was amazing and I'm not lying ;) (cheesy I know). I just wasn't sure if I could do this book justice. I don't think I can, but I will do my best as always to write the best review I can. Don't get me wrong, I'm certainly not implying that I don't write my best reviews always, it's just that this book is written in a very different style of writing with a way different plot. Also, I can't write too lengthy or in-depth of a review without spoiling something.
Micah is a liar. This entire book is a lie. Or is it? You will finish this book and draw your own conclusions. It's written brilliantly. I read at Teenreads that Justine wrote Liar out of order. That makes sense for this type of novel. The novel doesn't have chapters, but it has sections titled Before, After, History of Me and Family History. The Before refers to life before Zach Rubin's (Micah's boyfriend) murder. After refers to life after the murder and Family History explains about Micah's past and family (obviously, very self-explanatory). History of Me is about Micah's past. The book has three parts, each claiming to be the absolute truth. The pages are almost poetic and you will be on the edge of your seat. I cursed school for keeping me from finishing this book. Readers will become completely absorbed in Liar.
Towards the middle, Micah shares some shocking information. You will not see it coming (or maybe I'm just a bit slower at piecing together clues). Micah is a compelling character. I started off liking her, then she started to annoy me with the lies, but in the end I loved her all over again, flaws and all. I loved all the characters because they were so three-dimensional. Tayshawn, Sarah, and Jordan. I really learned about their personalities and their own secrets. Micah can be very perceptive, but at the same time I was never sure if she was perceptive or simply making up events. And Jordan! Grr. I think I've reached my own conclusion about the story (SPOILER highlight to read: I want to believe that she really is a werewolf, and that she didn't kill Zach. I think she and Zach did have sex but I don't think anything happened between Micah, Sarah and Tayshawn. )except I'm still not sure about the Jordan aspect. Also, I'm positive Justine is not a liar, but she does an impeccable job of allowing us inside the head of a constant liar. Micah's own twisted-up logic for lying makes sense, in an odd sort of way. It gives you something different to think about. Finally, I know absolutely nothing about biology (although I start learning next semester), but I think Justine did a great job of writing about biology. It seems very factual and it was really interesting reading about biology (genes, DNA and all this other stuff I knew nothing about).
I adored the ending. I almost wish there was a follow-up to Liar but at the same time I think it's very crafty and smart to leave the book as a stand-alone. You will think about this book for days.
I want to share one last amazing quote (same page as the IQ): "The brain cracks, can't accept the truth, and makes its own. Invents a bigger and better world that explains the bad thing, makes it possible to keep living. When the world you're seeing doesn't line up with the world that is-you can wind up doing things-terrible things-without knowing it. " I highly recommend this book. I don't want to go into much detail on the cover. All I have to say is that it's definitely a good thing that they changed the cover and I love how the girl's mouth is covered. And also I love the back cover which simply states over and over "I will not tell a lie." Liar is one of my favorite books to look at (along with Ash which I haven't even read yet).
Sidenote: I'm going away for Thanksgiving, but I should have computer access. If for some reason I don't, I'm wishing everyone prematurely a Happy Thanksgiving! I'm thankful for my family, friends, health, a home, education, freedom, the sacrifices of soldiers, books and all my followers :D
Disclosure: I received a copy of Liar from the publisher (Bloomsbury USA). Thanks Melanie!
