Book Review ~ ‘The Lie Tree� by Frances Hardinge.
The Lie Tree by Frances Hardinge
Genres: Young Adult, Historical, Fantasy
Release Date: 7th May 2015
Publisher: Macmillan Children’s Books
SYNOPSIS
The leaves were cold and slightly clammy. There was no mistaking them. She had seen their likeness painstakingly sketched in her father’s journal. This was his greatest secret, his treasure and his undoing. The Tree of Lies. Now it was hers, and the journey he had never finished stretched out before her.
When Faith’s father is found dead under mysterious circumstances, she is determined to untangle the truth from the lies. Searching through his belongings for clues she discovers a strange tree. A tree that feeds off whispered lies and bears fruit that reveals hidden secrets. The bigger the lie, the more people who believe it, the bigger the truth that is uncovered.
The girl realizes that she is good at lying and that the tree might hold the key to her father’s murder, so she begins to spread untruths far and wide across her small island community. But as her tales spiral out of control, she discovers that where lies seduce, truths shatter. . . .
A beguiling tale of mystery and intrigue.
Bookseller Review ~ ‘The Lie Tree� by Frances Hardinge ~ 5++ Stars!
I don’t normally curse in reviews, but my god, this book was f***ing amazing!
‘The Lie Tree� is one of the best books I have ever read; EVER! And I read a lot of books!
Winner of the 2015 Costa Children’s Award and then the overall 2015 Costa Award (the first Children’s book to do so since Philip Pullman’s The Amber Spyglass in 2001), Frances Hardinge’s Young Adult novel will suck you into the harsh reality of a young girl’s life in the 19th century.
Faith is the kind of heroine that I want in my YA fiction. Restrained by societies ideals and overlooked because of her sex by her father who she idolises, Faith doesn’t let this stop her from being what she wants to be, and when her father is found dead in mysterious circumstances it is up to Faith to uncover the secrets that led to his death and protect the specimen whose secret he died protecting.
Highlighted throughout are brilliantly interwoven elements of the historical issues of the time; feminism, evolution and religion, and a fantastic splattering of fantasy which brings the story together in a way that will enchant and amaze the reader.
This book is everything! Please read it!
5++ Stars!
*Many thanks to Macmillan Children’s Books for providing me with a proof copy*
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