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y separately published work icon Liar single work   novel   young adult  
Issue Details: First known date: 2009... 2009 Liar
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'Secrets, lies, murder and betrayal.

'Micah Wilkins is a liar. But when her boyfriend, Zach, dies under brutal circumstances, the shock might be enough to set her straight. Or maybe not. Especially when lying comes as naturally to her as breathing. Was Micah dating Zach? Did they kiss? Did she see him the night he died? And is she really hiding a family secret? Where does the actual truth lie?

'Liar is a breathtaking roller-coaster read that will have you up all night, desperately seeking for something true.' (From the publisher's website.)

Teaching Resources

Teaching Resources

This work has teaching resources.

Teachers' notes via publisher's website.

Notes

  • Included in the 2010 White Raven's Catalogue compiled by the International Youth Library in Munich, Germany.

Affiliation Notes

  • This work is affiliated with the AustLit subset Asian-Australian Children's Literature and Publishing because it has a Chinese translation.

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

    • Crows Nest, North Sydney - Lane Cove area, Sydney Northern Suburbs, Sydney, New South Wales,: Allen and Unwin , 2009 .
      image of person or book cover 660160882395432071.jpg
      This image has been sourced from online.
      Extent: 344p.
      Note/s:
      • Publication date: October 2009.
      ISBN: 9781741758726 (pbk.)
    • New York (City), New York (State),
      c
      United States of America (USA),
      c
      Americas,
      :
      Bloomsbury Children's Books ,
      2009 .
      image of person or book cover 5041538795190858244.jpg
      This image has been sourced from online.
      Extent: 1v.p.
      Edition info: 1st US ed.
      Note/s:
      • Publication date: October 2009.
      ISBN: 9781599903057
    • Crows Nest, North Sydney - Lane Cove area, Sydney Northern Suburbs, Sydney, New South Wales,: Allen and Unwin , 2011 .
      image of person or book cover 8061406756327704041.jpg
      Cover image courtesy of publisher.
      Extent: 368p.
      Note/s:
      • Published April 2011

      ISBN: 9781742375380
Alternative title: Leugens
Language: Dutch
    • Amsterdam,
      c
      Netherlands,
      c
      Western Europe, Europe,
      :
      De Boekerij ,
      2010 .
      image of person or book cover 7088964902638071745.jpg
      This image has been sourced from online.
      Extent: 288p.p.
      ISBN: 9789022555750, 9022555755

Other Formats

  • Sound recording.
  • Large print.
  • Dyslexic edition.

Works about this Work

'Would I Lie To You?' : Unreliable Narration and the Emotional Rollercoaster in Justine Larbalestier's Liar Betina Kümmerling-Meibauer , 2018 single work criticism
— Appears in: Affect, Emotion, and Children's Literature : Representation and Socialisation in Texts for Children and Young Adults 2018; (p. 113-126)

'Books with evil children as main protagonists can be disturbing, even more so when they appear in literature targeted at children and young adults. Very often these evil characters provide an emotional counterpoint to positively represented characters and generate antipathetic feelings. The main protagonist in Liar is Micah Wilkins, who lives with her family in New York. Told from her point of view, the story moves between the present, which focuses on her everyday life at high school, and the past, which relates Micah's family history and how she met her boyfriend. As with the acquisition of empathy, cognitive psychologists distinguish at least four developmental stages. Cognitive empathy is the capacity to understand another's mental state or perspective. Lying is closely connected to moral issues and ethical debates focusing on whether all lying is wrong, as in the case of prosocial lies, such as polite lies and white lies.'

What Students and Teachers Can Learn by Judging a Book by Its Cover Jennifer Anne Ford , 2016 single work criticism
— Appears in: The Australian Library Journal , vol. 65 no. 1 2016; (p. 50-56)
'Teacher librarians and English teachers have numerous opportunities to engage students and achieve successful learning outcomes in a number of key curriculum areas. Using and recounting a brief history of the cover for a teen thriller written by Australian author Justine Larbalestier in 2009, this article highlights discussion points concerning book covers and suggests ways in which book covers for children and young people can be explored in both library and classroom settings.' (Publication abstract)
Women's Crime Fiction : 2010 Davitt Award Winners Tanya King-Carmichael , 2010 single work criticism
— Appears in: Australian Women's Book Review , vol. 22 no. 2 2010;
Book of the Year Older Readers - Short List Books 2010 single work review
— Appears in: Reading Time : The Journal of the Children's Book Council of Australia , August vol. 54 no. 3 2010; (p. 6)

— Review of Stolen : A Letter to My Captor Lucy Christopher , 2009 single work novel ; Loving Richard Feynman Penny Tangey , 2009 single work novel ; Liar Justine Larbalestier , 2009 single work novel
[Review] Liar Marilyn Murray , 2010 single work review
— Appears in: Reading Time : The Journal of the Children's Book Council of Australia , February vol. 54 no. 1 2010; (p. 30-31)

— Review of Liar Justine Larbalestier , 2009 single work novel
[Review] Liar Jenny Sharp , 2009 single work review
— Appears in: Buzz Words , 15 October no. 70 2009; (p. 31-32)

— Review of Liar Justine Larbalestier , 2009 single work novel
Spinning a Web of Deception Ronni Phillips , 2009 single work review
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 17 October 2009; (p. 10)

— Review of Liar Justine Larbalestier , 2009 single work novel
Fiction Lorien Kaye , 2009 single work review
— Appears in: The Age , 24 October 2009; (p. 25)

— Review of Liar Justine Larbalestier , 2009 single work novel
Kids' Lit Jill Rowbotham , 2009 single work review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 24-25 October 2009; (p. 22)

— Review of All the Colours of Paradise Glenda Millard , 2009 single work children's fiction ; Liar Justine Larbalestier , 2009 single work novel
[Review] Liar Joy Lawn , 2009 single work review
— Appears in: Bookseller + Publisher Magazine , October vol. 89 no. 3 2009; (p. 39)

— Review of Liar Justine Larbalestier , 2009 single work novel
The Black Girl and the Whitewash Jason Steger , 2009 single work column
— Appears in: The Age , 15 August 2009; (p. 28)
A column canvassing current literary news including a report on the racial implications of the US cover design for Justine Larbalestier's young adult novel Liar.
Dark Reaction to a Whitewashed Book Clare Morgan , 2009 single work column
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 12 August 2009; (p. 14)
Clare Morgan reports on responses to the US book cover of Justine Larbalestier's Liar. The original cover depicted a long-haired white girl; the book is about a short-haired black girl.
Fictional Jigsaw Joy Lawn (interviewer), 2009 single work interview
— Appears in: Bookseller + Publisher Magazine , October vol. 89 no. 3 2009; (p. 42)
Writing 'Liar' Justine Larbalestier , 2009 single work column
— Appears in: Viewpoint : On Books for Young Adults , Summer vol. 17 no. 4 2009; (p. 6-7)

Discussing her writing methods, Larbalestier says she wrote Liar 'out of order and in small chunks' so that 'in some, ways, it was more like writing poetry than a novel' (6). She talks about the impact of 'being an Australian living, on and off, in New York City" (6) as shaping the novel, however she also briefly refers to a number of significant events in her own life and the geographical landscapes that influence and inform the narrative. These include attending an alternative high school in Sydney (6), the death of a close friend (7) and the 'hyper urbanized' environment of New York City where 'Nature and wilderness and city co-exist' (7).

Liar : Creating Collective Truths (liar.edublogs.org) 2010 single work column
— Appears in: Fiction Focus : New Titles for Teenagers , vol. 24 no. 1 2010; (p. 11)
A column discussing the creation of a blog for Justine Larbalestier's Liar to be used as a teaching tool.
Last amended 13 Apr 2023 09:27:21
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