I am going to be honest, at the start of this book, I was already sure it was headed for 5-star territory. I was insanely engaged, and it was so, so unique. I was hooked from page one, because come on, Nazi-run England?! Yes, I needed to read that!
Jessika... man, she was flawed. Remember that discussion about whether you'd fight for the rebellion? Yeah, Jessika was the "Sweatpants and Cheetos" option. No, she wasn't lazy, she was actually quite driven.. but she was also a blind rule follower and had less than no desire to rock the boat. Her best friend was another story though. Clementine was rebellious, and not planning on stifling it anytime soon. In fact, she was getting more rebellious and making Jess more and more nervous- especially since Jess's dad was a public figure.
Most of this book was badass and basically I could not put it down. Here's what I absolutely loved about it:
- Morality was not even almost cut and dry. Was there even a "right" or "wrong"? Not likely, because that isn't really how life works, and The Big Lie showed that better than probably any book I have read. Jess didn't know that what was happening in her country was not okay, it's the life she always knew, so she was just trying to please her parents. Clementine grew up very differently, and had so many more facts.
- Jess was questioning her sexuality and was quite often confused. She seriously wasn't sure what she wanted, which to be honest, was kind of a recurring theme for her in the beginning. But as you'd imagine in Nazi England (or Nazi anywhere for that matter) anything other than cisgender heterosexuality was not ever okay, so Jess was confused as hell when she had even the slightest feelings of attraction.
- The political climate was so intriguing, especially since we knew virtually nothing about the U.S. and their role. I loved that this book was basically isolated from the U.S., because it's refreshing, quite frankly! Usually it's the opposite- the plot is happening in America, and we don't know what the rest of the world is doing. In this book, all we know that the Americans seem to have "questionable standards", at least as far as Nazis are concerned.
- The plot was really amazing, especially the first half. I can't say much more because of spoilers, but I was glued to this book. My jaw dropped on several occasions, and holy crap, I just was blown away by it.
- I loved how complex the characters were. Like Jess and the morality in general, everyone had such multifaceted personalities! There wasn't a "bad guy". There were just people, on some spectrum of good and evil, but no one ever fully touching one end. You know, they were real, and believable.
So what went wrong? Why isn't this a new favorite, as I was 100% sure it was going to be? Le sigh. I don't want to have qualms with it, but I do. I have zero problems with the first, say, 65% of the book. But then things got... a but dull. Like, this epicness was happening, and then it wasn't so much. It was still good, but not as captivating. And then the ending happened, and I was not thrilled with it, and am now super conflicted about my thoughts on this book. The more time I give it, the more I can appreciate it, I suppose.
Bottom Line: I don't even care if I liked the end or not, this book is worth the read, 150%. Like, you must. Even if you don't like the ending either, trust me that the rest of the book is worth it. And make sure you stick around for the author's note!
**Copy provided by publisher for review