The Lie Tree by Frances Hardinge is a historical thriller where you are brought back to a society struggling through gender roles and a possible murder.
Synopsis:
” To earn a secret so profound, I would need to tell momentous lies, and make as many people as possible believe them…
Faith Sunderly leads a double life. To most people, she is modest and well mannered—a proper young lady who knows her place. But inside, Faith is burning with questions and curiosity. She keeps sharp watch of her surroundings and, therefore, knows secrets no one suspects her of knowing—like the real reason her family fled Kent to the close-knit island of Vane. And that her father’s death was no accident.
In pursuit of revenge and justice for the father she idolizes, Faith hunts through his possessions, where she discovers a strange tree. A tree that only bears fruit when she whispers a lie to it. The fruit, in turn, delivers a hidden truth. The tree might hold the key to her father’s murder. Or, it might lure the murderer directly to Faith herself, for lies—like fires, wild and crackling—quickly take on a life of their own.”
My Review:
I have to say that I found some of the characters to be really annoying. The author sets the story in a time where boys are superior and it is absurd to have a girl/woman possess intellect or any role except fir being kept in the shadows. It wasn’t necessarily that the concept was annoying alone, but that everyone kept rambling on about it to where you felt like you had enough. But, I also realize that it is part of the time period.
With our main character being a girl, we get to read a lot of the views the male population exhibits. But even though I was annoyed, this means the author did a great job in writing a believable story.
The story was a little slow at times. Personally, I struggled to really get into the book, and it took me about halfway in order to pick up on the excitement. There are definitely fast-paces parts f the plot, but again, they seemed far and between. I also wasn’t expecting this book to have magical-type elements attached as well. Overall, I give this a 3 out of 5 star rating.
I liked the mystery and the underlining magical elements, but I couldn’t get into the story until I was a chunk of the way through. I was entertained once I was able to be fully sucked in. I’d recommend this book for those who may be into historical mysteries.
More Book Information:
Published: 19 April 2016 (Originally 7 May 2015 by Macmillan)
Publisher: Amulet Books
Genre: Young Adult Historical Fantasy
Pages: 384
How I Read It: Book from Publisher during BEA 2016
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