The Liars by Jennifer Mathieu

Pages: 336 

Publisher: Hachette  Children's Group 

Released: 5th of September 2019 

It's the summer of 1986. Joaquin and Elena, two teenage siblings live in a toxic environment with their alcoholic mother on an island off the Texas Gulf Coast.

Elena falls for a new boy who has just arrived from California. Joaquin must wrestle with his decision to stay on Mariposa Island to protect his sister or flee from his mother's abuse.

As both teenagers struggle to figure out who they are and want to be, they are caught in a web of family dysfunction and secrets from their mother's past. 

What I Have to Say 

This was such an interesting book to read. It was so generational. Showing how the suffering of one generation can lead to more suffering in the next, travelling from generation to generation. It was a fascinating look at abuse and fear and how it can lead to control. 

I don't know much about Cuba, so I was interested to see what it was like there and how the upper classes were affected by the revolution and the evacuation of the children. 

I loved the two different view points and how they lie and rebel against their mother's rules. It was such a good look at lies and deception and how each teenager handled their mothers rules in their own way. 

 My thanks go to Hachette's Children's Group and Netgalley for providing me with this copy for review. 

Little Liar by Julia Gray

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 384

Publisher: Anderson 

Released: 7th of June 2018 

 Nora has lied about many things. But has she told her most dangerous lie of all?

There’s a new art assistant at Nora’s school, and he’s crossed a line. Nora decides to teach him a lesson he won’t forget.

But not everything goes quite to plan, and Nora needs an escape. She befriends the rich and talented Bel, who longs for a part in a remake of a famous film. Bel is unpredictable, jealous and crazy, but she opens up a new world for Nora, and that makes her irresistible. 

As events start to spin wildly out of control, Nora must decide where her loyalties lie – and what deceits she can get away with.

What I Have to Say 

This book gripped me right from the very start. There was so much mystery, so much happening and  a main character who couldn't be trusted, let alone believed. Little Liar was such a good story that was impossible to predict. I loved Nora so much, despite how much she lied and how awful she was to the people around her, there was something about her that made me want her to succeed. Despite being a terrible person, she was incredibly likable. 

Bel also was a great character. She made me think a lot about the manic pixie dream girl trope and how there is a friendship version as well. Bel is beautiful and unpredictable and spontaneous. There are often books about quiet girls befriending girls like her and having their world changed around them. Of course it usually ends in tears. 

Little Liar was no exception and I enjoyed the book right until the very end. I was very sorry to finish it and have no more to read. I'm really excited to explore other books by Julia Gray. 

My thanks go to Anderson and Netgalley for providing me with this copy for review. 

The Upside of Falling Down by Rebekah Crane

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 247

Publisher: Skyscape 

Released: 30th of January 2018 

For Clementine Haas, finding herself is more than a nice idea. Ever since she woke up in an Irish hospital with complete amnesia, self-discovery has become her mission.

They tell her she’s the lone survivor of a plane crash. They tell her she’s lucky to be alive. But she doesn’t feel lucky. She feels…lost.

With the relentless Irish press bearing down on her, and a father she may not even recognize on his way from America to take her home, Clementine assumes a new identity and enlists a blue-eyed Irish stranger, Kieran O’Connell, to help her escape her forgotten life…and start a new one.

Hiding out in the sleepy town of Waterville, Ireland, Clementine discovers there’s an upside to a life that’s fallen apart. But as her lies grow, so does her affection for Kieran, and the truth about her identity becomes harder and harder to reveal, forcing Clementine to decide: Can she leave her past behind for a new love she’ll never forget? 

What I Have to Say 

This was a great book about picking yourself up and finding a new identity after a tragedy. Clementine has no memory of who she was before the crash and she's scared of hurting the people from her old life by pretending to be someone she's not. So she runs away from her life and chooses to find a new identity rather than chasing after an old one. 

Obviously it is not a good idea to run away from hospital and go off with a complete stranger in a foreign country, but I really understood Clementine and wanted her to succeed. I wanted her to go back to her dad, but I also wanted her to find her new life and run away with Kieran. It's a book that really makes you think hard about the choices that Clementine is making and whether what she's doing is for the best. 

I love books that make you think about things differently. The right and wrong of it all is obvious, but even then, it still makes you think about it all. 

A love letter to Ireland, with strong themes of identity and truth, this was a fantastic book all around. 

My thanks go to Skyscape and Netgalley for providing me with this copy for review.