 | ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids. |
 | OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | NOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age. |
LIAR
- By Justine Larbalestier
- Genre: Fantasy
Common Sense Media says
Intense fantasy about a compulsive liar and/or werewolf.
Parents say
QUALITY
Kids say
QUALITY
What parents need to know
Parents need to know this is an intense book for mature teens. Micah, the main character, is a compulsive liar who claims to be a werewolf (though some of the adults around her think she has psychological problems). Her secret boyfriend is murdered, and later Micah reveals how she found his body, which had been ripped to shreds. Micah also talks about their intense sexual relationship, and later describes kissing and more with two other classmates. The language can be rough at times, as can the narrative.
What's the story?
It's easy to believe that Micah's a compulsive liar, especially after she starts revealing all the lies she's told (like pretending to be a boy during her freshman year of school). It's harder to trust her when she says that she had nothing to do with her boyfriend's murder -- or that she is now capable of telling the whole and complete truth. Readers won't know what to think when she tells them she's actually a werewolf -- especially when police discover that Zach was eviscerated in New York City's Central Park by something that looks like dogs.
Is it any good?
This book is simply thrilling: Is Micah actually a werewolf, or is she, as one teacher theorizes, simply a confused girl who's "rejecting [her] own body" by pretending to be something more masculine? Either way, did she kill Zach -- and was it intentional or just something that happened in the heat of the moment? Not knowing the answers is, of course, much of the fun, and readers will love racing through this fast-paced book trying to sort out the truth. Micah's non-linear storytelling gives readers more to sort out, as do the various theories about the origin of werewolves.
What families can talk about
Families can talk about controversy over the book's US cover. Though Micah describes herself as black, she was portrayed as white on the cover that first came out (they have since changed it). In the author's blog, she says that while she objected, "editors have told me that their sales departments say black covers don’t sell." She asks readers "When was the last time you bought a book with a person of colour on the front cover?" Does the face on the cover make a difference in your own buying choices?
Micah is a good example of an unreliable narrator. Even at the book's end, readers will wonder what they can believe. Can you think of other books with unreliable narrators? Do you find that this makes a book more interesting, or do you get frustrated wondering what to believe?
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- Teens & kids
AGE
Leave it for the teens!
This is a really good book. I am reading it right now. The concerns I do have is langue and sex (it doesn't describe it). It has a lot of cuasing in it though. Micah can be concidered a bad role modle because of all the lieing she does.
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AGE
Ill classified as a teen novel
Honestly, I thought it was a waste of my time. The premise was off to begin with. (Is she telling the truth? Is she lying? You never really know.) Second, I (the adult, not the teenager) came away feeling mineral and sullied. I think literature should uplift and educate, and I felt like this book did just the opposite. There are so many good books in this world, I'd rather my child read something else. I would hardly encourage a friendship with Micah, at least one where you listen to 384 pages of her lies (some pretty disturbing). Why would I want my child to sit through that?
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AGE
5 stars...13+
While LIAR is pretty much the best YA book of 2009--in my opinion--it has frequent language, violence, and occasional descriptions of sex. If you can handle that though definitely read it--it's amazing.
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AGE
better for older teens
i liked the book. i thought it was fun finding out wheather she lied or not and all, but the language they used was innapropriate. I'm pretty sure it had every bad word there is in the world in it at least twice
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AGE
its fine for kids 12 and up
its a good book but not amazing. not a hard read or intense
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AGE
The WORST book I have ever read. EVER.
I am 16. I did not enjoy this book at all.
I am an avid reader and I have always finished books, but this was the first book I was absolutely unable to finish.
I thought it had an interesting premise but the writing was awful. Asides from the plot there was nothing compelling. I disliked the main character who was telling the story, and wasn't attracted to her in the slightest.
I tried to give this book a chance. But once I got to part 2? I just could not allow myself to read further. I mean I had taken the book thinking it would be a good mystery but once the bit about her being a werewolf was mentioned? It was entirely too much.
This is the only book that I can think of to date that I have nothing good to say about. It's a waste of time. Give your teen Hunger Games and leave this on the bookshelf. :)
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AGE
I Do NOT Recommend!
I had the bad luck of choosing "Liar" off the library shelf. I was halfway through when the innapropriate content rose sharply and I looked up this review. I was shocked at was I was reading / would have read. It was a TOTAL WASTE OF TIME and way too confusing to figure out. I have no desire to finish it; Micah is probably telling the story from an insane asylum. It would have been fun to figure out, but the BAD DEFINITELY OUTWEIGHS THE GOOD. I will never read another book without at least looking at the recommended age.
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AGE
Skylar's Book Review
It is good to let your children read this, it is based on real life things.
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AGE
Don't want my 15 year old daughter reading this
I have not read this book. However, I was considering allowing my 15 year old read this book, but now that I have read the reviews shown on this website, I would not want my 15 year old reading this.
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| Author: | Justine Larbalestier |
| Book type: | Fiction |
| Genre: | Fantasy |
| Publisher: | Bloomsbury USA |
| Publication date: | September 29, 2009 |
| Number of pages: | 388 |
| Hardcover price: | $16.99 |
| Publisher's recommended age(s): | 14 - 17 |
| Read aloud: | 14 |
| Read alone: | 14 |
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