Lie by Caroline Bock

Young Adult: 224 Pages
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Published: August 30th, 2011
Series: None
Source: From publisher for review
Buy the Book: Amazon
Find the Author: Website

Everybody knows, nobody’s talking. . . .

Seventeen-year-old Skylar Thompson is being questioned by the police. Her boyfriend, Jimmy, stands accused of brutally assaulting two young El Salvadoran immigrants from a neighboring town, and she’s the prime witness. Skylar is keeping quiet about what she’s seen, but how long can she keep it up?

But Jimmy was her savior. . . .


When her mother died, he was the only person who made her feel safe, protected from the world. But when she begins to appreciate the enormity of what has happened, especially when Carlos Cortez, one of the victims, steps up to demand justice, she starts to have second thoughts about protecting Jimmy. Jimmy’s accomplice, Sean, is facing his own moral quandary. He’s out on bail and has been offered a plea in exchange for testifying against Jimmy.

The truth must be told. . . .


Sean must decide whether or not to turn on his friend in order to save himself. But most important, both he and Skylar need to figure out why they would follow someone like Jimmy in the first place.

When reading the premise for Lie I knew that it was going to be a suspenseful read. Tackling a sensitive issue, I knew the book was going to rise some emotions out of me.

The overall storyline of the book is enough to tug at the heart-strings. We are introduced to Skylar Thompson who is a broken seventeen year old girl. Her boyfriend is being accused of a brutal crime, the same boy who was the only one that could save her from the pain she was dealing with...the death of her mother. One thing I loved so much with this novel was the character development. Caroline Bock did a tremendous job when it came to her character building. The emotions that each character felt radiated off the pages, the sadness, the anger, the confusion. It was all there.

I wasn't exactly a fan when it came to how the book was laid out. The book is written from each character's point of view. If it was just 2 or 3 characters I might have been able to adjust to it, but we are reading the perspectives of 7-8 different characters. At times I found myself getting confused, and it took away from my connection with the book.

When it comes down to the entire book as a whole package, I enjoyed it. Other than the book's layout, I found the story powerful enough to overcome that. It's realistic and heart-wrenching. If you like books that tackle real and sensitive issues, then I highly recommend Lie.