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A review by girlglitch
The Liars by Jennifer Mathieu
4.0
You rarely see low-key domestic dramas in YA, so Mathieu's latest novel kind of took me by surprise. Readers expecting a twisty thriller will be disappointed: The Liars is more of a brooding character study.
It's eloquently written, with fantastically real and frustrating characters. I loved the interchange between the different family members' povs, including flashbacks to the mother's childhood in Cuba. I did feel a little let down by the lack of plot, and the final reveal never quite hits its mark, leaving the whole novel feeling curiously shapeless. It's only really when you finish the book (with its unresolved ending) that you realise that was the intention all along.
The Liars is a heavy and ambitious read, as cloying as the atmosphere in the Finney family home. It's an astute exploration of lies and entrapment, slow to bloom but wonderfully weighted.
*Thank you to Netgalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review*
It's eloquently written, with fantastically real and frustrating characters. I loved the interchange between the different family members' povs, including flashbacks to the mother's childhood in Cuba. I did feel a little let down by the lack of plot, and the final reveal never quite hits its mark, leaving the whole novel feeling curiously shapeless. It's only really when you finish the book (with its unresolved ending) that you realise that was the intention all along.
The Liars is a heavy and ambitious read, as cloying as the atmosphere in the Finney family home. It's an astute exploration of lies and entrapment, slow to bloom but wonderfully weighted.
*Thank you to Netgalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review*