There Will Be Lies by Nick Lake | eBook

Publishers Weekly

11/10/2014
Lake returns to the mix of reality and fantasy he used to great success in his Printz-winning In Darkness for this story narrated by Shelby Cooper, a deaf teen whose life is upended when she is struck by an out-of-control Humvee in Scottsdale, Ariz. Shelby’s injuries aren’t life-threatening, but her mother panics, spiriting her away for a Thelma and Louise–style road trip to the Grand Canyon. Heretofore, Shaylene Cooper kept Shelby on a short leash, but Shelby soon learns that their cloistered existence had a darker genesis than maternal overprotectiveness. What Shelby discovers about her past is so unsettling that she retreats into an allegorical landscape known as the Dreaming. In this alternate world, drawn from Native American mythologies, Shelby is befriended by Coyote and told she is on a quest to kill the Crone and save a child whose cries she has heard for years in a recurring nightmare. These fantasy sequences are not as taut or thrilling as the real-world chapters, but Shelby is highly sympathetic, and readers will stick with her as she figures out who she can trust. Ages 14–up. Agent: Caradoc King, United Agents. (Jan.)

From the Publisher

“Perplexing and disorienting, full of the rich language and heady epiphanies readers have come to expect from the Printz-award winning author.” —starred review, School Library Journal

“Impressively unpredictable--a motley mix of taut thriller, transportive fantasy, and poignant coming-of-age . . . Shelby narrates the surreal implosion of her life in an indignant, funny voice, à la Judy Blume.” —Entertainment Weekly

“A rare joy to behold . . . Another impressive stylistic swerve from Printz-winner Lake.” —Booklist

“Suspenseful, complicated . . . A fine exploration of the power of story itself to heal the unconscious from scars physical and emotional.” —Kirkus Reviews

“Lake returns to the mix of reality and fantasy he used to great success in his Printz-winning In Darkness . . . Shelby is highly sympathetic, and readers will stick with her as she figures out who she can trust.” —Publishers Weekly

“A twisty drama suffused with elements of folklore.” —Wall Street Journal

“Lake is truly a masterful storyteller . . . . This is a strange and beautiful story that truly deserves to be read. Do not hesitate to add this to your collection.” —VOYA

“This hallucinatory, kaleidoscopic mix of plot, characters, and setting is eminently discussable for its nuanced themes . . . . Lake continues to practice his craft at a high level.” —The Horn Book

“Unlike anything else currently in the YA market . . . Readers will be rewarded with a beautiful ending highlighting the importance of family, independence, and finding one's own way.” —Library Media Connection

“Lake employs a powerful combination of realism and myth to craft a resonant story of survival.” —BCCB

“Intelligent, empathetic, and eye-opening.” —starred review, Booklist on HOSTAGE THREE

“Perceptive and harrowing.” —starred review, Publishers Weekly on HOSTAGE THREE

“A dark journey well worth taking--engrossing, disturbing, illuminating.” —starred review, Kirkus Reviews on IN DARKNESS

“A startling but successful feat of literary imagination.” —starred review, Publishers Weekly on IN DARKNESS

VOYA, February 2015 (Vol. 37, No. 6) - Jonatha Basye

Seventeen-year-old Shelby has lived an extremely sheltered life. She and her mother, Shaylene, follow a strict schedule. Shelby is homeschooled throughout the week, while her mother quietly cross-stitches scenes from the Scottish highlands. Fridays, however, are special. Shaylene takes Shelby to the batting cages, where she never misses connecting with the ball. Then it is time for the library and, finally, ice cream for dinner. Shelby relishes her time on Fridays because freedom for her is scarce. She loves her overprotective mother but knows that something is very wrong with their relationship. Shelby’s dreams/nightmares are pushing her toward the truth, but is the truth something she can live with? Lake is truly a masterful storyteller. The way he has woven Shelby’s story into the Native American folklore of Coyote is both brilliant and wholly appropriate. He also does a clever job of hiding certain aspects of Shelby’s demeanor until the reader believes that the mystery has been solved. Each chapter flows into the next with such ease that it is difficult to find a stopping place. Readers will continue reading till the end is reached— at least, that is what this reviewer did. Lake makes readers care for Shelby and her predicament, and one cannot help but cheer for her and wish her well. This is a strange and beautiful story that truly deserves to be read. Do not hesitate to add this to your collection. Reviewer: Jonatha Basye; Ages 12 to 18.

Children's Literature - Kellie Deys

This young adult novel blends mystery, suspense, mythology, and fantasy in a surprising, though not always satisfying, way. Lake tells the story of Shelby Jane Cooper, an isolated, home schooled seventeen-year old who spends her days interacting only with her mother. Lake immediately builds tension by opening the book with Shelby’s first-person narrative, informing readers that she will be hit by a car in four hours, but die in eight days. After being hit by the car, Shelby experiences two unfolding dramas, one in the real world and the other in the Dreaming, a Native American mythical fantasy world led by the figure of coyote. The Dreaming clearly helps to inform the real world in ways that Shelby must decipher as she is on the run from her Scottsdale, Arizona home with her mother. Careful readers may quickly solve the mystery of Shelby’s family dynamic—that the woman she knows to be her mother is actually her abductor but the fun in reading is observing their fifteen-year relationship start to unravel once Shelby and her mother are on the move. The first half of the story creates intrigue and excitement, but the second half drags in comparison, as the novel’s resolution may be obvious to readers long before it happens. The frequent immersion into the Dreaming also slows down the primary narrative; what could be an interesting layer to a Young Adult mystery/suspense novel also serves as a somewhat tedious device distraction. Reviewer: Kellie Deys, Ph.D.; Ages 14 up.

School Library Journal

★ 12/01/2014
Gr 9 Up—"I have no words to describe how I am feeling—it's like grief, maybe, but grief for myself. I was living my life, and then something came along and killed me, erased me." Seventeen-year-old Shelby Jane Cooper's world begins to come apart after she is hit by a car in Scottsdale, AZ. Her overprotective mother takes them on the run, and a coyote (who used to be a boy) begins to bring her into the Dreaming, a magical place where Shelby is no longer deaf and the animal inhabitants believe she can save them from an evil witch. What's real, this world or the Dreaming? What are the "two lies" that Coyote warns Shelby about? What is the one truth? Lake's new novel is perplexing and disorienting, full of the rich language and heady epiphanies readers have come to expect from the Printz-award winning author of In Darkness (Bloomsbury, 2012). The plot draws on Native American mythology and the haunting vastness of the Southwest landscape. The battles between elks and wolves, narrow escapes from authorities, and the looming mystery (Who is Shelby?) will make teens want to tear through the pages. Encourage them to temper this impulse lest they miss a single one of Shelby's heartrending revelations that happen on her journey to save the Dreaming and herself.—Chelsey Philpot, Boston University

Kirkus Reviews

2014-11-04
Over a period of eight days, 17-year-old Shelby's life is forever changed.Home-schooled in Scottsdale, Arizona, the two things Shelby's sure of are that her father is dead and that the world is a dangerous place. Her friend, Mark, tells her that "[t]hings are…starting to happen" right before she's struck by a car, fracturing her foot. As she passes out, a coyote seems to give her a cryptic message about lies and a hard truth. From then on, Shelby's life quickly unravels. Her once-shy mother's behavior becomes erratic as she drives Shelby to Flagstaff and tells her that her father, not dead after all, may be chasing them. When Shelby closes her eyes, she finds herself in the Dreaming, where Mark is the trickster Coyote and where her recurring dream of a crying child in need of rescue takes on urgency. Counting down the days toward a life-altering revelation, Shelby steps in and out of the Dreaming, its fairy-tale castles, crones and changelings blended with the sacred Eagle and Coyote of Navajo legend. Discerning readers might pick up carefully planted indications that Shelby is deaf early on. The suspenseful, complicated story slowly spins out clues to Shelby's life that have been hidden from her for years. A fine exploration of the power of story itself to heal the unconscious from scars physical and emotional. (Fiction. 13-17)

There Will Be Lies

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