Lies We Tell Ourselves by Robin Talley

Lies We Tell Ourselves

by Robin Talley

***SHORTLISTED FOR THE CARNEGIE MEDAL 2016*** ***WINNER OF THE INAUGURAL AMNESTY CILIP HONOUR 2016***

Lie #1: I'm not afraid

Lie #2: I'm sure I'm doing the right thing

Lie #3: I don't care what they think of me

It's 1959. The battle for civil rights is raging. And it's Sarah's first day of school as one of the first black students at previously all-white Jefferson High.

No one wants Sarah there. Not the Governor. Not the teachers. And certainly not the students - especially Linda, daughter of the town's most ardent segregationist.

Sarah and Linda are supposed to despise each other. But the more time they spend together, the less their differences matter. And both girls start to feel something they've never felt before. Something they're determined to ignore.

Because it's one thing to stand up to an unjust world - but another to be terrified of what's in your own heart.

'The main characters are terrific in what is a moving YA novel. And an important one.' - The Telegraph'

This is so thought-provoking it almost hurts to read it, yet every word is needed, is necessary and consequently this is a novel that lingers long after you've finished it' - Lovereading

'This is an emotional and compelling read that I did not want to put down. It is [...]beautifully written and the tension just simmers on the pages.' - Bookbabblers

'This book packs a very powerful punch' - Historical Novel Society

'With great characterisation, tough issues covered, and a plot which had me guessing right up until the last pages, this is a must-read. Massively recommended!' - The Bookbag

'This exceptional novel of first love and sexual awakenings is set against a backdrop of shocking racism and prejudice. It is incredibly well written as the tense, riveting story seamlessly combines fiction with historical fact.' - Booktrust

'Every now and then a Young Adult book comes along that I want to push into every readers hands both young and old and Lies We Tell Ourselves is that book for 2014' - Jess Hearts Books

'Talley has mixed two controversial topics together to create a firecracker of a story' - Cheryl M-M's Book Blog

*A Goodreads Choice Awards semi-finalist 2014*

Reviewed by girlinthepages on

3 of 5 stars

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Lies We Tell Ourselves is one of the hardest-to-read books I've encountered in a while, and rightfully so. It chronicles school segregation in the south in the 1950s, a time when racism was at its ugliest and most obvious, and cruelty was currency to be used in establishing one's place in the racial social hierarchy. Watching Sarah and her peers have to deal with such blatant and intense harassment, and for them to have to just take the bullying for the sake of the greater good of segregation, made my blood boil, especially to think that this wasn't THAT long ago in history. The entirety of the novel I spent reading with my heart in my throat, waiting for the other shoe to drop, as I knew it was inevitable that something truly brutal would happen. However, often times the books that are the most difficult to read are the most important, and the fact that this novel evoked such a strong reaction from me means it did its job in portraying the horrors that belong to this era in history.

Lies We Tell Ourselves also deals with other social issues, such as gender and LGBTQ relationships. I appreciated seeing Linda, the daughter of a staunch anti-segregationist, struggle with the conflicting beliefs she held (claiming she wasn't a racist but also believed in segregation, etc.) and seeing that while she was priveleged to be white, she faced many forms of oppression still for being female. This novel did a great job of showing the intersectionality of multiple systems of oppression. However, while this intersectionality is a strength of the novel I also think it is a bit of a weakness, as I felt the plot points surrounding sexual orientation at times overshadowed the story line regarding race and desegregation, and I wish that the book had chosen to give a majority of focus to one of these issues rather than try to juggle both, as it didn't have the capacity to do so.

Overall: A strong read about a very important time in American history told from multiple female points of view. This review was originally posted on Girl in the Pages

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