A few days ago I posted my "list" of favorite books. Over the next few days I'm going to try to review some of the books on that list that I haven't already reviewed to give you a little bit of an idea of what they are about and why I liked them. Liar was on the honorable mention section of my list. Here's a summary:
Micah is a liar. She lies about everything. And as the narrator of this story, she admits this to us right up front. She tells us how she's lied to everyone in her life from parents, to friends, teachers, random strangers. Most of her lies are harmless, meant for good fun and some laughs. Some of her lies have gotten her into big trouble and branded her the very thing she is. So when Micah's boyfriend is found dead under brutal circumstances and Micah is the last person to have been with him, no one believes her when she says that she wasn't the one who did it. She sets off to tell us, the reader, some very difficult truths. For the first time ever she's ready to finally be honest. But can a chronic liar ever really be truthful?
**I completely loved this book but for reasons so different than why I love other books on my list. For one, I loved having a dishonest narrator. It wasn't until I was about halfway through though the book though that I really got this. Like any other avid reader, I trusted who was telling me the story. Micah seemed so genuine and relatable that I chucked out everything she'd told me about her--the most important of which was that SHE LIES!! Even though she'd clearly tell you "this is the truth," I found myself never knowing if what I had just been told was actually THE TRUTH. The story telling style in Liar was great with plenty of flashbacks that were relevant to each current section of the story. Larbalestier takes you on a whirlwind mystery of who-dunnit and truth vs. lie that will leave you frustrated but in a head-shaking, smiling kind of way. I have never been more surprised by a story before which is why Liar made the honorable mention section of my list of favorite books.
Thanks for reading! See you back here soon.
PulseIt you did it again! Another free book and this one hasn't even hit the shelves yet. I read Thorn Abbey in about two days and really enjoyed it. Here's my summary:
Plain, smart, loner Tess has just started attending the prestigious Thorn Abbey school. She finds she doesn't fit in at all. Her parents aren't together, she has no money, she's never had a boyfriend or a first kiss, and she doesn't understand half of what her roommate Devon and Devon's friends are talking about. They are beautiful and confident and know what it takes to fit in and Tess doesn't. When Tess sees Max it's practically love at first sight. But when she mentions her interest to Devon and Max's roommate Franklin, they both warn her to stay away. It was only a few months ago that Max's girlfriend Becca died in a tragic boating accident. They say Max was in love with her and still isn't over her. Becca was Devon's old roommate and best friend. She was beautiful and popular and everyone loved her. Tess can't compete with that--she's nothing like Becca. But Max says that's what he likes about her. The more Tess and Max get involved, the more strange things start happening to Tess. Ghostly attacks, weird noises in her room, and Devon's moody behavior are just a few examples. When Devon disappears and is found face down on the beach, Tess is sure she is dead. But CPR brings her back. Only, Devon is completely different. Not at all like her old self. Tess finds an old diary of Becca's and discovers a new entry. That's when she finally figures out what has been going on. Becca's spirit has been around this whole time and Devon did die--and Becca has taken over her body. Tess tries to tell Max what she has learned but Becca is set on getting revenge and she sets the building the students are all in on fire. Not everyone makes it out. What Tess discovers afterwards will completely turn her world upside down.
**I had seen a synopsis for this book a while ago and thought it looked decent so when PulseIt offered to let readers download for free, I thought sure, why not? I learned that this book is actually a retelling of the book Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier (something I now want to check out!) I read Thorn Abbey pretty quickly and while at times Tess's voice and thoughts grated on me in their immaturity, I found that the mystery and suspense of the story more than made up for it. Besides, teens are supposed to be immature, right? I loved the twists and turns this novel took and how we were left hanging at the end. So many questions for book two to answer and I look forward to finding out more!
Thanks for reading!
