Title: If I Lie
Author: Corrine Jackson
Release date: August 28, 2012
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Pages: 276
Source: Bookstore
Reading level: YA
Challenge(s): None (read in 2012)
A powerful debut novel about the gray space between truth and perception.
Quinn’s done the unthinkable: she kissed a guy who is not Carey, her boyfriend. And she got caught. Being branded a cheater would be bad enough, but Quinn is deemed a traitor, and shunned by all of her friends. Because Carey’s not just any guy—he’s serving in Afghanistan and revered by everyone in their small, military town.
Quinn could clear her name, but that would mean revealing secrets that she’s vowed to keep—secrets that aren’t hers to share. And when Carey goes MIA, Quinn must decide how far she’ll go to protect her boyfriend…and her promise.
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If I Lie is one of the best contemporary novels I have read ever! From the very first page I was hooked and I could not stop reading until the very last page was turned. Corrine Jackson’s debut novel is one you don’t want to miss!
From the summary I expected this huge secret that wouldn’t be revealed until the end of the book. While the secret was a pretty big one, it was revealed rather early on in the story. I thought I might lose a little interest after that but that was so not the case. There is so much more to the story than just one secret.
Quinn is a very strong character who, while not immediately easy to relate to, is immediately easy to sympathize with. Not only does the whole town think she’s a slut who cheated on her marine boyfriend, her father thinks the same thing. She has no one left until she starts to volunteer at the Veterans hospital. There she finally meets some people who don’t judge her for what they don’t know. Quinn’s time spent with George at the hospital is what really made me start to love her. She is a different person with him. For a good part of the book she comes off a little standoffish but that’s because of her terrible situation and I didn’t dislike her for it. I just really loved seeing a friendlier side of her with George. Really for a good part of the book she is alone with nobody to talk to but herself and so readers see every side of Quinn; the good, the bad, and the ugly. It made her such a real character.
Like I said earlier, there is so much more to the story than just a secret. There are family problems, friendship and trust issues, growing up and moving on, and just so much more. I have to say that while romance does play a big part in the story, it’s not a focal point. Quinn spends some time worrying about love but she spends more time worrying about Carey, her family, her friends, George, and everyone else but herself. She’s a very mature girl who I admire for her strength. And while I normally hate books without romance, that wasn’t the case with this one. I thought it was perfect just the way it was.
Corrine Jackson’s writing must also be mentioned but I feel like I’m just going to ramble on about how awesome and fantastic it was. I loved her writing. It wasn’t a super eloquent writing style. It was a more simple style that will take readers no time to get used to. I think the simplicity of the writing style really made this book more enjoyable for me and I think I will enjoy it in Corrine’s future books.
Overall, I can’t really put into words how awesome If I Lie is. You just have to read it for yourself. It will have you crying your eyes out (or trying your hardest not to, if you’re in public, like I was.) I commend Corrine Jackson for tackling such a tough topic and making it the perfect read for young adults. Get a copy of this book now!
What others are saying about If I Lie:
Readergirl Reviews a Teen Book’s review: “I loved it from the first page.”
Poetry to Prose’s review: “Corrine Jackson’s If I Lie is raw and often painful, but it will get under your skin and have you thinking about it for days after.”
The Garden of Books’ review: “Corrine Jackson blew me away with this debut novel and I can’t wait to see what she comes up with next.”
Amazon | Barnes & Noble
If I Lie is one of the best contemporary novels I have read ever! From the very first page I was hooked and I could not stop reading until the very last page was turned. Corrine Jackson’s debut novel is one you don’t want to miss!
From the summary I expected this huge secret that wouldn’t be revealed until the end of the book. While the secret was a pretty big one, it was revealed rather early on in the story. I thought I might lose a little interest after that but that was so not the case. There is so much more to the story than just one secret.
Quinn is a very strong character who, while not immediately easy to relate to, is immediately easy to sympathize with. Not only does the whole town think she’s a slut who cheated on her marine boyfriend, her father thinks the same thing. She has no one left until she starts to volunteer at the Veterans hospital. There she finally meets some people who don’t judge her for what they don’t know. Quinn’s time spent with George at the hospital is what really made me start to love her. She is a different person with him. For a good part of the book she comes off a little standoffish but that’s because of her terrible situation and I didn’t dislike her for it. I just really loved seeing a friendlier side of her with George. Really for a good part of the book she is alone with nobody to talk to but herself and so readers see every side of Quinn; the good, the bad, and the ugly. It made her such a real character.
Like I said earlier, there is so much more to the story than just a secret. There are family problems, friendship and trust issues, growing up and moving on, and just so much more. I have to say that while romance does play a big part in the story, it’s not a focal point. Quinn spends some time worrying about love but she spends more time worrying about Carey, her family, her friends, George, and everyone else but herself. She’s a very mature girl who I admire for her strength. And while I normally hate books without romance, that wasn’t the case with this one. I thought it was perfect just the way it was.
Corrine Jackson’s writing must also be mentioned but I feel like I’m just going to ramble on about how awesome and fantastic it was. I loved her writing. It wasn’t a super eloquent writing style. It was a more simple style that will take readers no time to get used to. I think the simplicity of the writing style really made this book more enjoyable for me and I think I will enjoy it in Corrine’s future books.
Overall, I can’t really put into words how awesome If I Lie is. You just have to read it for yourself. It will have you crying your eyes out (or trying your hardest not to, if you’re in public, like I was.) I commend Corrine Jackson for tackling such a tough topic and making it the perfect read for young adults. Get a copy of this book now!
What others are saying about If I Lie:
Readergirl Reviews a Teen Book’s review: “I loved it from the first page.”
Poetry to Prose’s review: “Corrine Jackson’s If I Lie is raw and often painful, but it will get under your skin and have you thinking about it for days after.”
The Garden of Books’ review: “Corrine Jackson blew me away with this debut novel and I can’t wait to see what she comes up with next.”