Complicated Deceptions: Liar by Justine Larbalestier

I was born with a light covering of fur.
After three days it had all fallen off, but the damage was done. My mother stopped trusting my father because it was a family condition he had not told her about. One of many omissions and lies.
My father is a liar and so am I.
But I'm going to stop. I have to stop.
I will tell you my story and I will tell it straight. No lies, no omissions.
That's my promise.
This time I truly mean it.

I've just finished reading Liar and I have to stop and catch my breath. Justine Larbalestier's latest book is freaking amazing!

First of all, there's the intricately crafted plot. Presented to us by Micah, our narrator, in three sections:

1) Telling the Truth
2) Telling the True Truth, and
3) The Actual Real Truth

Each section circles back on the others, adding layers of detail which confuse and alter the storyline until it resembles a kaleidescope. This is a story in which anything is possible, but nothing is certain. And when I say anything is possible, I mean anything. Is Micah a compulsive liar, or is she crazy? Why do her parents reject her? Is she a killer? Is she actually human, or is she something else altogether? Not to give anything away, but let me just say that the more Micah's story accretes, the more bizarre and riveting it gets. Micah may be the ultimate unreliable narrator, but she gets under your skin all the same.

Then there are all the rich themes. Truth versus fantasy. Identity. The complications of the female body. Sexuality and its link to the feral. Guilt. The uneasy relationship between love and aggression. This book takes them all on superbly, darkly, entertainingly. And the ending is so satisfyingly open.

This is what I thought would happen. This is what could have happened. This is what did happen.

What I Wouldn't Give for a Never-Put-On-Weight Fairy

Justine Larbalestier claims she has a procrastination fairy, but I know better; what she really has is a doos book-writing fairy. (Doos = cool, ace, brilliant--you know you're reached a certain age when you find yourself consulting the glossary in a book of teen fiction). How to Ditch Your Fairy is a fun, fast, playful read with lots of verve and a very determined main character, Charlie, who is at serious odds with her fairy.

Yes, that's right, her fairy. In Larbalestier's world, everyone is born with their own personal fairy. No one can see them (although you can sometimes see their auras in a mirror) but you know that they are with you based on your own special brand of luck. Charlie's best friend has a shopping fairy, so whenever she goes shopping she finds fabulous clothing at ridiculously low prices (that fit her perfectly, natch). Charlie's mother has a knowing-what-your-children-are-up-to-fairy, so when Charlie gets into trouble she has absolutely zero hope of hiding it from her Mom. Charlie herself has a parking fairy. Which means that whenever she is in a car, no matter where she is going, she always finds a free parking spot right in front of her destination.

Now Charlie is only fourteen and can't even drive yet, but she is tired of being made to accompany parents, relatives, neighbours, and the school bully every time they want to drive somewhere. The only way Charlie can win back her life is to change her fairy. When starving her parking fairy by walking everywhere fails to work, she and her classmate Fiorenze decide to switch fairies. Fiorenze has an all-the-boys-will-like-you fairy she can't wait to get rid of. (Literally. All the boys. Even the gay ones. They only like her when she's around, mind you, but that's enough to make her wildly unpopular with the girls).

Well, the fairy swap brings new problems, and the story goes on from there. Happy ending, of course. But the story's turns are never absolutely predictable. (Well, except for the fact that Charlie will want to escape the the all-the-boys-will-like-you fairy. Saw that one coming a mile away). Part of the fun of the book is seeing the types of fairies that crop up. Fiorenze's family is so posh and wealthy thanks to her grandmother's stealing fairy. And Charlie's crush Steffi has a never-get-in-trouble fairy--how useful is that!

Hmmmm...wouldn't mind a chocolate fairy either...