I have absolutely no idea how to review this.
I found this a little frustrating, a little boring, but a lot addictive. Every time I put it down…I to pick it up again. But at the same time I felt so annoyed at it. How do I review these feelings?!
Just kidding. I don’t quit. I will be brave and strong and attempt it.
It’s written in a very unique style.
The dialogue is in italics instead of “quotation marks”. The narrator, Shelby, is screamingly sarcastic. I hate saying this about characters, but I literally wanted to shake her and say JUST SHHHH a few times. Now, I’m a sarcastic person myself. I usually adore books with sarcasm. I wasn’t sure why it irritated me this time, but maybe it was a little smidge too dry? BUT! I did like it more as the book chugged along.
Basically, the first 100-pages did not sit well with me.
I was weirded out by no quotation marks. I felt the story was off. I hated the negative images it was portraying. Like Shelby was homeschooled but wasn’t allowed to talk to anyone, have friends, go anywhere by herself. I got rather defensive because I thought it was making fun of homeschooling (I homeschooled, by the way). Then I thought it was making light of mental illness, which I figured Shelby’s mother definitely suffered from.*
* Who doesn’t let their kid talk to people?? Who never lets their kid go even for a walk without accompanying them?? WHAT IS THIS BOOK?!!
BUT THAT WAS THE PRELUDE, PEOPLE.
THEN IT THE BOOK STARTED TO MAKE SENSE.
It was like being hit in the face. But nothing, literally NOTHING is as it seems.
Remember the title: THERE WILL BE LIES.
The book lied to me. I’m remarkably impressed at how well, efficiently, and convincingly it lied. (This is suddenly awesome.)
It’s narrated by unreliable people. It’s an unreliable story. It’s written in a very raw style, stream-of-consciousness, and there’s a huge reason there’s no dialogue tags. I will put the reason in spoilers, because after I found out (and it’s revealed at around pg. 120 or so…so read at your own risk!) I actually started to enjoy the book and stop hating on it.
My biggest annoyance, though, was the chapters about Shelby’s ‘dreaming’.
It was pretty obvious to me why she was having the hallucinations and dreams about coyotes and crazy forests and crones and crying children. (Parellel of her life, much? Just in magical terms?) I was just SO uninterested. I ended up skimming those chapters and wish they’d been left out and it had been a plain thriller.
It’s absolutely full of unreliable twists and turns.
I could NOT stop thinking about it. It’s addictive! I wanted more, but at the same time, I wanted to reach the end and be done already. Shelby grew on me and I got truly invested in her life, her thought process, her decisions. The story is so intriguing and sad and a little scary. It doesn’t make sense until the end. So whatever you do, no matter how much the beginning bugs you, DO NOT GIVE UP BEFORE THE END.
Basically? Ugh to the first half, but OH WOW to the second half.
Thank you Allen & Unwin and Bloomsbury for the review-copy! There Will Be Lies by Nick Lake came out on 6th January, 2015.
In four hours, Shelby Jane Cooper will be struck by a car.
Shortly after, she and her mother will leave the hospital and set out on a winding journey toward the Grand Canyon.
All Shelby knows is that they’re running from dangers only her mother understands. And the further they travel, the more Shelby questions everything about her past—and her current reality. Forced to take advantage of the kindness of unsuspecting travelers, Shelby grapples with what’s real, what isn’t, and who she can trust . . . if anybody.
Award-winning author Nick Lake proves his skills as a master storyteller in this heart-pounding new novel. This emotionally charged thrill ride leads to a shocking ending that will have readers flipping back to the beginning.
Goodreads Booktopia Amazon Book Depository Book World Allen & Unwin
Cait is feeling very unproductive because it’s so hot. She has mainly been lying in the air-conditioning…reading. (Hey, it’s still holidays.) She’s neck deep in The Death Cure by James Dashner which is the LAST Maze Runner book and she’s freaking out. There is so no happy ending in site for her poor little Mazey babies.
This … actually sounds like it could be interesting. The last book I read, Station Eleven, was the exact flip of this situation, but equally compelling. It was so beautiful and was coming together so perfectly all through the beginning and middle. And I saw the ending coming and I *knew* it would be disappointing (relative to the rest of it) but I couldn’t put it down. And it was sort of disappointing, but I don’t regret finishing it at all. And since unreliable narrators are really my thing, I should probably take a look.
I DO like unreliable narrators….so I don't know what got me with this one. (Gosh knows I loved Dangerous Girls by Abigail Haas and that was very unreliable…hehe.) But the second half of this book was absolutely brilliant. So I still recommend it!!
This sounds intriguing and I did read the spoilers (naughty me!) which makes me want to read it but the fact that the first half was a bit ‘ugh’, kind of puts me off. Can I just read the second half?
HA! Just read the first half….fast. And know that you get rewarded with the second half?! (I don't blame you for reading the spoilers. I would've picked it up in a heartbeat if I'd known That Thing About Shelby right away because that intrigues me.)
Okay, so I skimmed that last half because spoilers terrify me. xD But man, that Sherlock gif is bringing me ALL THE FEELS. I dunno what to think of this book. I’ll read it, I guess, but dang–not quotation marks? I don’t know whether I can deal with that without being really, really annoyed. xD
THERE IS NO SPOILERS IN THE SECOND HALF OF MY REVIEW I PROMISE! I put spoiler tags around anything spoilery. *nods*But aren't you proud of me!?! Sherlock instead of Supernatural gifs for once! GO CAIT! XD
YOU’RE KIDDING, I GOTTTA SIT THROUGH 100 PAGES BEFORE I BECOME HOOKEDISH??? Can I even do that? Will I have the power to do so?
The dreaming bit is the element that I’m not looking forward to. CAN I SKIP IT?? LOL Point is, I gave this one a half ish go two weeks ago. Got to page two. Couldn’t do it. Put it down temporarily. Yeah.
YEAH YOU DO HAVE TO. *whispers* I just skipped the dreaming chapters but shhhh do not tell on me.
This book sounds really fascinating, I love the sound of an unreliable character and the play on the title about LIES. The no quotation marks would really put me off though. Great review Cait!
The no quotation marks put me off too…BUT THERE IS A REASON. And after that I thought it made perfect sense. XD
Oh no…. 100 pages??? That’s a LOT! I started reading this book in a bookshop and it was really good… I’m completely fine with no quotation marks.. I think. In a lot of German books there are these things (<>) instead of quotation marks, so I had to get used to the quotation marks when I started reading English books.
IT IS A LOT. *wails a little* Oh well it\’d suit you perfectly if you\’re not used to the quotation marks anyway, right?!
First, I love your pictures – Especially the first one! What camera do you use, Cait?
This one definitely sounds different but I’m not sure if it’s a good different or a bad one! Also that spoiler, I had read it. Yeah, I know I know.
I still don’t think this a book for me though. Nicely reviewed, Cait. 🙂
It\’s a Nikon D60! My parents camera that I have almost permanently relocated to my room. Shhhhh. THEY THINK IT\’S STILL THEIRS. xD Hehe.
How does a modern book have a 100 page prelude?!? Well, hopefully the classics will have trained me to deal with long preludes. You have intrigued me, though. I was really tempted to view the spoiler, but from what you say here, I want to read it myself to find out what happens. It sounds a lot like We Were Liars with the unreliable narrator. And since I loved We Were Liars, I think I’ll love this book.
Well it\’s not really a prelude….it\’s just the first 100 pages of the story really irritated me and THEN I started to get into it and get the flow.
Oh yes! We Were Liars is a fabulous comparison!!
I’ve never really understood the concept of unreliable narrators, the only thing I’ve read is a short story. I mean, it sounds cool, but I feel like I would just question everything and not care about the plot or the story. I DON’T KNOW, I think I will keep this book in mind just to see what I would think. AWESOME REVIEW CAIT! (Random question: are you still homeschooled or are you going to Uni or working/just reading and writing all day, because aren’t you the same age as me? Sorry I’m ignorant of Australian ways)
I do like unreliable narrators! I just….this one took a while to click with me. Like I was being clueless and didn\’t realise it WAS unreliable, you know?! *facepalm* Duh, Cait, duh.
(I finished school a few years back and I\’m just working from home atm. I run a small business. xD which is how I have time to read and write because I don\’t have to travel to from work/school or whatnot. You\’re not ignorant. xD)
(ok ok I was just wondering and yay working from home! I always wondered why you had so much time for books and bloggy stuff and NOW I KNOW. Thanks for thinking I’m not ignorant haha)
Ah, yes, I do have a lot of time, though to be honest, I mostly do everything at night. XD
Whoa, it sounds BRILLIANT! (I think I say this too much, but books) I READ THE SPOILER (it’s AWESOME!!!) and I guess I’ll be able to tune out her too-much sarcasm. Perhaps. Looking forward to the lies though – I loathe unreliable narrators, unless I’m sure that they’re unreliable. So yeah, definitely looking forward to this!
YOU SPOILER CHEATER. hehe. I don\’t blame you, actually. It\’s a spoiler that would actually make me pick up the book instead of run away. xD
I love reading books narrated by unreliable people because it is confusing and you don’t know what to expect. Yes, it’s frustrating sometimes but I don’t mind feeling that way towards a book because when things are explained you appreciate the book a lot more. This looks like something I would definitely enjoy a lot
Ohhh you should totally try this! It sounds perfect for you!
Oh cool I’ve never heard of this story before, I’m going to try and find it now.
I hope you enjoy it! Seriously, it\’s soo so addictive. XD
Very interesting. I didn’t read this whole thing because I was scared of those spoilers, but what I did read definitely intrigued me. I was sort of so-so on the idea of reading this book, but now I feel like I just need to know … you know?
I understand! Although I was spoiler friendly (I make sure I put my spoilers in tags *nods*). YOU DO NEED TO KNOW.
Asdfghjkl I don’t know if I should read this or not, I’ve heard such mixed things! I might give it a go if my library gets it in but I won’t go out of my way to review it. I totally get that thing about the book annoying you but you have to pick it up again. When I read Hush Hush I hated it but I also couldn’t stop turning the pages which DOESN’T MAKE SENSE. Fabulous review, Cait!
I would totally say give it a go if you find it!! ME TOO WITH HUSH HUSH. I was so angry at Nora for being deluded and Patch for being a freak, but I was listening to the audio and it was so luring. 0.0
I’ve read a couple of books that used italics instead of quotation marks. But, unlike this book, it was for no reason that I could see other than to be artsy and pretentious. So… yeah. Alice Hoffman’s Incantation and Jacqueline Woodson’s Brown Girl Dreaming both did the italic thing for dialogue. It wasn’t so bad in the latter, because it was a verse novel; it didn’t seem that out of place. But the former was just a regular prose novel, and I never really got used to the italics.
I guess it\’d be something to get used to?? And I get that authors do things to stand out or fit the tone of the book. *nods* I usually find it hard adjusting. >_<
This sounds like the kind of book I would love! I must have it now!
I read the spoiler (I always do I can’t help myself) and I was shocked even though I hadn’t read the book! Lovely review:)
OH I HOPE YOU FIND A COPY AND READ IT ASAP THEN. Even though tut tut you spoiler clicker you. 😉
When you said no quotation marks I immediately thought of How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff. That book doesn’t have any quotation marks either–or even dialogue. This sort of writing style is interesting and different and works in some circumstances but not all and is not for everyone. Also, I’m not sure what I think about unreliable narrators. I don’t think I’ve read enough books that have them, but I’m hesitant about picking this one up simply because of the 100 page mark for it to start making sense and get interesting. I, too, am not a fan of constant flashbacks/dreams, and if you skimmed the dreams then I most certainly will. Good review, Cait, you’ve given me a lot to think about and I haven’t even read this!
ohh, I think I would have a hard time with How I Live Now because I ADORE DIALOGUE SO MUCH. It\’s half the reason I read, tbh.
Well. That sounds like a pretty unique book, haha! I got a little skeptical when I read your comment about the portrayal of homeschooling–I feel like it’s rare for homeschooling to be portrayed in a book as more than a stereotype, which, as a fellow homeschool graduate (high five!), bugs me–but since this wasn’t on my to-read list I peeked at the spoiler and that makes it a bit better, I guess? I don’t know, since I haven’t read the book, but at least it’s something. (The portrayal of homeschooling was actually one of the things I loved about The Vanishing Season, AKA The Moment Collector, because THERE ARE NO STEREOTYPES. It was wonderful!)
I don’t have much experience with unreliable narrators, so I haven’t got much of an opinion on them, but this book sounds like a pretty interesting concept so I’m glad you (sort of?) liked it. Or at least, you know, it kept your attention!
Ugh, YES. Why is that?! Homeschooling has such negative portrayals everywhere i go. In real life and on the internet. It\’s really frustrating because I loved it. *hi fives* OMG BUT YES! I agree about that in The Moment Collector! It was one thing I loved so much because she wasn\’t socially awkward or weird or freaky. She was like a really normal/nice girl. Well, apart from like the whole ghost thing. hehe.
It was definitely a I-sort-of-love-it-sort-of-don\’t read for me. xD
I know, there are SO many negative stereotypes about homeschoolers, but I absolutely LOVED being homeschooled! So of course, reading about Maggie in The Vanishing Season was a wonderfully pleasant surprise. (A good sign: Nowhere in the blurb did it say she was homeschooled. I had no idea until I started reading, because it was a nonissue–something that contributed to her character, but didn’t need to be announced because it was pretty much irrelevant to the plot. YES!)
This reminds me of a book I read a while ago called Liar, by Justine Larbalestier where the start was weird and I didn’t really enjoy it, but as the book went on things became clearer and it wasn’t all as it seemed. I kind of want to read There Will Be Lies because it sounds interesting, but at the same time, I already have far too many other books to read…. *sigh* maybe one day.
I\’ve only read one book by Justine Larbalestier before…Have you heard of Razorhurst?? I wasn\’t a big fan of it unfortunately. 🙁
Gah, I know how you feel. TOO MANY BOOKS.
One. Totes jealous that you have greenery outside.
Two. I didn’t even know this book existed and it sounds WEIRD. I’m sorry you had to go through that. o.o
YAY FOR GREENERY. It is stinking hot here right now. xD
Strange things. Very strange. However, you have got my curiousity itching. This was a great review.
I still do recommend this one. If you get a chance. 😉
Ughhhhhhh I hate books that make me feel that way! Like, I like part of them but not the other part. Even if the ending is AMAZING, I’m usually still grumpy because I was so BORED during the beginning and it felt like a waste of my time! :/
IT\’S SO HARD TO REVIEW AND STAR-RATE THEM. Though, look. Another 3-star review. >_< I\'m beginning to be worried about me.
After devouring We Were Liars the other day (totally and completely AMAZING btw!!!), I looked for similar books, and stumbled across this one. I wasn’t going to read it, but now I think I’ll pick it up. I’m really in the mood for the whole “Big Giant Twist You Never Could Have Possibly Seen Coming That Changes The Entire Book” type of thing, so hopefully I’ll just be able to get through the beginning. 😛
oh this will totally be for you then! The twist isn\’t QUITE as big as We Were Liars, but it\’s still that kind of mind-twist-y-ness. <– Totally a word.
That sounds … trippy. I’m not sure I could read it. But at the same time, I really want to. Wow. Lovin’ the Sherlock gifs 🙂
Sherlock makes EVERY REVIEW BETTER. *nods*
Well I loved code name verity, which was thoroughly unreliable… and I used to be homeschooled (I was pretty isolated from other kids though, but living in remote areas of India will do that for you…)
This book sounds really interesting. Thanks for the review!
OH oh it was it WAS. Although this is a completely different genre/feel. BUT STILL.
I was never a homeschooling social butterfly (well, I\’m still not hehe) but yes, the mother is a little over-the-top here. There\’s a real REASON but it felt kind of wrong at first. >.> Well, it still is WRONG. But..gah! TOO HARD TO EXPLAIN. heh. just read it. xD
Hmm, italics for dialogue in quotations sounds interesting, especially since that’s usually revolved for thoughts, flashbacks or dreams. Ah, I feel I may be one of those “too sarcastic” people. No quotations can definitely throw a story off..
Crap Cait! Next time do a spoiler BEFORE you put “it’s narrated by unreliable people”. I glanced over the spoiler, there are two things Shelby either is or isn’t. I un-did the spoiler at the first three letters. Haha…. I really like preludes and this sounds really interesting to me, so I’lll have to check it out. 🙂
I\’m usually SUPER sarcastic, so I don\’t know why this rubbed me the wrong way?! I got used to it and then loved it though. x)
Oh…sorry??
Great, now I need this book. The things you do to me, Cait! Now, I did not go anywhere near the spoilers, like the good little booknerd that I am, but I like the twistiness! (My spell check, incidentally, tells me that neither booknerd OR twistiness are words, but I am using them regardless.) GAH, more books I must read. ::Grumbles off to shake head at TBR::
GOOD BOOKWORM. Mostly everyone here confessed to clicking them. *glares at you all* OKAY OKAY! I get it. Spoiler tags are tempting. -_-
Twistiness NEEDS BE A WORD THOUGH.
Oooh I’ve been eyeing off this book but didn’t request it because…TBR PILE ABOUT TO FALL! Ahem, because I’m so behind on all the books. I couldn’t help but click on the spoiler tag – WHY WOULD YOU TEMPT ME LIKE THAT CAIT?! – and it definitely makes more sense as to why there’s a lack of quotation marks! It’s actually so smart the way the author went about with it. Sad to hear the beginning was so meh, but it’s great that the second half was so good! May just pick this up sometime in the future…maybe when I’ve forgotten all about the spoiler heh 😛
TBR IS ABOUT TO FALL IN MY HOUSE TOO. I need to not go to the library, like, ever again. *sigh*
HEY DON\’T BLAME ME. YOU CLICKED IT. Shame on you. 😉 But actually, yes! It makes soooo much more sense and I really started to get into the story after that.
Despite all the promotions Bloomsbury has been doing for this book, I was never really interested… until now. So you only gave it three stars (and I usually give three star books a skip, because I just don’t have the time for them), but this sounds really, really interesting. And unique. Oh, man, SO unique. I think I would be weirded out by the whole “no-quotations” thing, too, but it sounds like you got used to it in the end.
Also — it sounds really clever! Like the author knew what he was doing and what the best way was to craft out his story. So curious to see how this book lied to you because that’s definitely never happened in a book before. (And I have to admit, I expected a negative review because I thought the book lied about how it really was, lol.)
And hey! I’m homeschooled too! 😀 Yeah, I hate it when protags who’re homeschooled are portrayed as anti-social bookworms who have no life. But it does sound like Shelby’s mother has a screw loose or something. I HOPE THAT’S EXPLAINED IN THE BOOK.
So… really intrigued by this one! I can’t wait to meet these unreliable characters and be lied to by this very weird-sounding book. xD Brilliant review, Cait!
I kind of give 3-stars to books I don\’t know HOW to feel about. Did I like it? did I hate it?? Lol XD I don\’t know for this one…well. I DO KNOW. I did like it and it was rather amazing at the end and I like it a lot in retrospect, but not at the time. If that makes sense?? I hadn\’t even HEARD of it until it landed (surprise ARC) in my mailbox. XD
Huzzah for homeschoolers!! I graduated a few years back, but I loved homeschooling so so much. IT\’S NOT TRUE THAT WE ARE ANTISOCIAL AND WEIRD. Well. I am shy, but hehe, that has nothing to do with how I schooled!
Oh man…I was good and didn’t click on the spoiler tag! This sounds like it will totally be worth the draggy first bit. I love twisty books that hit you with surprises!!
GOOD JOB. XD It\’s tempting, right?!!
unreliable narrators…. hmmmm. I do love it whenever a book manages to surprise me. When I end up loving the second half of the book. This sounds like an extremely interesting read.
Applause to you for fighting your way through the first part of the book! I would probably do the same… but use half a year to get through this said first part. (insert sad smiley)
Your review has intrigued me… (I think it had to do with those wonderful Sherlock GIF’s as well haha). *heads over to Goodreads*
It makes it hard to review when I adore the second half and didn\’t like the first half at all. >_<
Oh yeah! You figured out how to get the comment form at the top – hehe! 😉
And I am so excited for this one. I love the sound of how unreliable it is and the twists and turns of it all. Definitely going to have to get a copy of it! It’s a shame the first half wasn’t quite as strong as the second, but, oh well, at least the second was as good as it was, right? 😉
YAY I FINALLY DID! *coughs* Well. I got my brother to. But whatever. Same difference. xD
True. Read it for the second half XD
Ok wow this sounds intriguing. Unreliable narrator? Yes please. It sounds, for lack of a better word, trippy (who am I kidding I wanted to use that word the entire time). Also the cover is very yellow. I don’t know what that means, but I know I like it.
On a different note, A+ use of Sherlock gifs. A. Plus.
It is very yellow. It\’s very in-your-face-yellow. xD Which is okay because my bookshelf is ordered by colour and I don\’t have nearly enough yellow books. X)
Huh. I want to read this now. I’ll put it on my endless TBR list lol.
I LOVED the Sherlock gifs by the way.
ENDLESS TBR? I HAVE ONE OF THOSE TOO.
I need to prepare myself for this no quotation marks thing. It’s gonna take a lot of getting used to. I usually like sarcasm as well but too much can definitely be annoying. I’m afraid I’ll just wanna slap the MC. 😛
There needs to be a balance with the sarcasm, right? *nods* I am a very sarcastic person so I\’m surprised it actually bothered me! AHHHH. Hope you like it!
Ooh I’ve got this to review and am starting it soon, so it’s interesting to see what you thought of it Cait. Good to hear things picked up in the second half, and the no quotation marks definitely is different! Brilliant review as always 🙂
EEP! I really want to hear your opinions on this!
Yes , yes and YES! I couldn’t agree more. The Dreaming so wasn’t my thing. Even not knowing all that much about the Native American mythology, it just didn’t seem genuine and considering she was white… But the contemporary thriller aspect of the storyline? Absolutely brilliant. I loved it. I mean REALLY loved it. I think the Dreaming threw me off, because I didn’t see THAT coming.
Brilliant review smushie, we’re sooooo two peas in a ultra fabulous pod <3
Viva la peas!
It DID seem off. >.> But maybe I\’m not really into Native American dreaming anyway???
WE ARE TWO PEAS.
YES! I’m still trying to do my review for this and it’s hard. There were parts I liked and parts I disliked. I think a straight up thriller would have been better. The dream world bugged me. I kind of guessed the main storyline and reason for why Shelby was raised that way very early on. So that made it less frustrating for me. Agree that the reveal could have come sooner about why the dialogue is that way, but I loved it when it came because it suddenly made so much sense. I enjoyed it and found it interesting, but it’s not something I’d read again.
Ooh looking forward to what you think of the end of Maze Runner trilogy! As for this book… I love a good stream of consciousness but only if it is handled well. I don’t really have intentions of reading this book, but I did read the spoiler and afterwards regretted it for some reason even though I don’t intend to read this 😛 Oh well, you did warn me! It’s a clever idea though!
Check out my post: http://olivia-savannah.blogspot.nl/2015/01/planning-your-story-guest-post.html
I really like unreliable narrators (especially since I read Complicit) but I’ve found that they are few and far between in YA. Most of the time, unreliable narrators are found in books with mentally unstable characters and crazy thrillers. I wasn’t too sure about this one but now I definitely want to pick it up at some point.
We had the exact same thoughts and reactions to this book. I really liked the contemporary parts, and totally wish the dreaming was left out.
So i had to read this book for school and I can’t really pay attention to this book with the dreaming and all. Please help me and tell me what the “truth” is because I see no truth I just see lies. I really don’t want to re-read this book, help a gal so I don’t pull another all-nighter looking for it. Thanks!