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trin's review
2.0
This came to me as a gift, highly recommended; due to that, and to the cover controversy that surrounded the book, I very much wanted to like it. I can’t honestly—a bit of a loaded word in the context of this novel—say that I did. I admired a lot of the things I felt Larbalestier was trying to accomplish: genre-bending; featuring a protagonist of color in a YA novel; discussing the nature of truth; casually depicting bisexuality; simply doing something different. But as a novel, this book fell short for me.
In the acknowledgments, Labalestier writes, “This book was written using Scrivener, a brilliant and indispensable piece of writing software...which allowed me to write Liar as if it were a jigsaw puzzle.” That pretty much sums up my main issue with the book: it was not only written like a puzzle, it reads like one—like a game, like something you are meant to figure out. It’s all form and mere scraps of content, from which the reader is meant to assemble the true shape of the narrative, and—perhaps more significantly—of the protagonist’s character. Which is all very clever, but not, to me, particularly enjoyable—or particularly weighty, either.
I wish my reaction could have been different, but this is how I felt, no lie.
In the acknowledgments, Labalestier writes, “This book was written using Scrivener, a brilliant and indispensable piece of writing software...which allowed me to write Liar as if it were a jigsaw puzzle.” That pretty much sums up my main issue with the book: it was not only written like a puzzle, it reads like one—like a game, like something you are meant to figure out. It’s all form and mere scraps of content, from which the reader is meant to assemble the true shape of the narrative, and—perhaps more significantly—of the protagonist’s character. Which is all very clever, but not, to me, particularly enjoyable—or particularly weighty, either.
I wish my reaction could have been different, but this is how I felt, no lie.
heathercottledillon's review
3.0
I think the idea behind this book is interesting--the narrator is a compulsive liar and freely admits to lying to even us readers, so her story keeps changing. It's a unique approach that will appeal to some people, but I didn't like being jerked around like that. The story did hold my interest, but I couldn't trust even the ending and that bothered me because I wanted to know what really happened. I need closure in books!
devonforest's review
3.0
I started this book really looking forward to it. The summary sounded interesting. And for the first half of the book, I was really enjoying it. And then comes the big plot twist- she’s a werewolf. Now generally, I am not opposed to werewolf books, however, that was not what I signed up for when I started this book. It just didn’t seem to flow. I get that (depending on how you interpret the book) it can be seen as a metaphor for mental illness, but it didn’t work. It felt so out of place. And the ending didn’t give much resolution. Again, I like books/movies that are open-ended and make you think about what really happened, but this didn’t work. There were just too many questions left unanswered. I think the idea behind this book was a good one, but poorly executed.
x_librarian's review
3.0
I'm a wee bit gullible so I was inordinately proud that I guessed even one change in the story, but other than that I was constantly wondering with no idea what would change next.
isabella1018's review
4.0
This book is so unique and different from any book I have ever read.
Right away you find out that Micah is a liar, so you don't know what to believe. But it is a page turner.
By the end of this book you don't know what is true or not.
Right away you find out that Micah is a liar, so you don't know what to believe. But it is a page turner.
By the end of this book you don't know what is true or not.
sarah_448's review
1.0
This book absolutely sucked. Many people have said this better than I did so go read their reviews but I did not enjoy it. I picked it up thinking “oh she’s a compulsive liar and her not exactly boyfriend (zack) died? Interesting!” It became very clear it was not a murder mystery and it was a weird book from beginning to end. Halfway through it’s revealed she a werewolf? Nobody picking up this book could have foreseen that. And then it was all about the werewolf. Zack who? There was no resolution and all that we were given was enough to confuse the reader. Not in a good way. Also this book was published in 2009 and it kinda showed that. A few pages in it was clear that this book was not timeless and in just 14 years it had aged quite a bit. It kept me interested, it wasn’t boring, but it wasn’t a good book.
stephxsu's review
4.0
Readers will be swept away from Micah’s narration from page one. LIAR is as compulsively readable as its protagonist is a compulsive liar. You will jump into this book, aware of Micah’s lying tendencies, and then struggle desperately to try—and fail—at staying one step ahead of this girl, this story.
Having a story told by a pathological liar brings to light the all-too-easily-dismissed problems of first-person narrator: that this POV is, in fact, completely at the mercy of the narrator, and thus can be a total fabrication without you knowing it. Justine Larbalestier explores just this paradox in LIAR: how much of Micah’s story can believe when we know she is a liar and her side of the story is the only one we get?
Interesting premise and paradox aside, however, Micah is an intriguingly complex character. She’s flawed, and has viewpoints that make you want to shake her until she sees things clearly, and yet Micah is so fully convinced of her unchangeable situation that you can’t help but go along with her, no matter how much you want to disagree with her. Micah’s narration jumps rapidly from past to present and back again, which is a surprisingly effective way of slowly doling out the story to readers, as well as consistent with Micah’s personality.
LIAR is a remarkable book where the story and its form complement one another for maximal success. It’s a story that will probably leave you with more questions and answers, but it absolutely proves the old edict right that you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover.
Having a story told by a pathological liar brings to light the all-too-easily-dismissed problems of first-person narrator: that this POV is, in fact, completely at the mercy of the narrator, and thus can be a total fabrication without you knowing it. Justine Larbalestier explores just this paradox in LIAR: how much of Micah’s story can believe when we know she is a liar and her side of the story is the only one we get?
Interesting premise and paradox aside, however, Micah is an intriguingly complex character. She’s flawed, and has viewpoints that make you want to shake her until she sees things clearly, and yet Micah is so fully convinced of her unchangeable situation that you can’t help but go along with her, no matter how much you want to disagree with her. Micah’s narration jumps rapidly from past to present and back again, which is a surprisingly effective way of slowly doling out the story to readers, as well as consistent with Micah’s personality.
LIAR is a remarkable book where the story and its form complement one another for maximal success. It’s a story that will probably leave you with more questions and answers, but it absolutely proves the old edict right that you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover.
embereye's review
4.0
A YA book with the issue of an unreliable narrator. At the end, I'm not sure what the truth was and what was the lie. Whether the narrator came clean, or continued telling stories of what she wished had actually happened is never really clear, and I love that the author did not let the uncertainty really stop. The main character, unreliable liar that she is, remained true the entire way through with her mix of truth and lies and the work that the reader has to do to try to figure out what was true and what was lies.
that_kitten's review
5.0
This book was twisty and turny and deliciously screwy. Micah's voice is rough, seedy, and oddly genuine. Given the fact that she's a complete liar-faced liar with a side of liar, I mean.
Yes, this is the book of whitewashing fame. I admit, the whole debacle over the coverfail was what informed me about the existence of LIAR in the first place, which I both find horrible and am thankful for, since I loved it. I wonder if I would have heard about it otherwise. I hate to think I wouldn't have.
LIAR is the sort of book that straddles genres in an effortless way that few can. I can't go into too much detail without giving major plot points away, but suffice to say Larbalestier makes the unbelievable believable in brisk, easy strokes.
She also does something many have attempted and few have succeeded at: she created a character who should be intensely disliked, but is somehow able to draw us into her pain and make us genuinely care about her. Micah is odd, aloof, and fairly mean. She's also a compulsive liar. Yet I spent the majority of this book pulling for her.
The style of the chapter breaks is something a little different, as well. A little convoluted to follow if you're not paying attention, but very clever. The writing is a splendid split between literary and gritty, while still believably teenager-y.
After plowing your way through, you'll still have no idea what exactly to believe. The web of lies is so flawless, so complete, it'll have you wondering what was real. If any of it was real.
Buy this book. It's worth your money. Plus, in doing so you can send the message to bookstores that consumers WILL TOO buy books with people of color on the cover. Win-win, really.
Yes, this is the book of whitewashing fame. I admit, the whole debacle over the coverfail was what informed me about the existence of LIAR in the first place, which I both find horrible and am thankful for, since I loved it. I wonder if I would have heard about it otherwise. I hate to think I wouldn't have.
LIAR is the sort of book that straddles genres in an effortless way that few can. I can't go into too much detail without giving major plot points away, but suffice to say Larbalestier makes the unbelievable believable in brisk, easy strokes.
She also does something many have attempted and few have succeeded at: she created a character who should be intensely disliked, but is somehow able to draw us into her pain and make us genuinely care about her. Micah is odd, aloof, and fairly mean. She's also a compulsive liar. Yet I spent the majority of this book pulling for her.
The style of the chapter breaks is something a little different, as well. A little convoluted to follow if you're not paying attention, but very clever. The writing is a splendid split between literary and gritty, while still believably teenager-y.
After plowing your way through, you'll still have no idea what exactly to believe. The web of lies is so flawless, so complete, it'll have you wondering what was real. If any of it was real.
Buy this book. It's worth your money. Plus, in doing so you can send the message to bookstores that consumers WILL TOO buy books with people of color on the cover. Win-win, really.
annablanna's review
3.0
At first I found this book hard to follow. It kept switching between past and present and random facts, but I managed. By the second half of the book, when they revealed her "big secret", I found the werewolf thing made it a bit more unrealistic. Micah wasn't particularly a nice character at all and only made it more difficult to read. However, I was sort of captivated by the plot line and wanted to know what happens, and the idea that maybe what you know at the end isn't complete truth is very interesting.
3 STARS
3 STARS