Review of The Lie Tree by Frances Hardinge

"Faith Sunderly leads a double life. To most people, she is reliable, dull, trustworthy - a proper young lady who knows her place as inferior to men. But inside, Faith is full of questions and curiosity, and she cannot resist mysteries: an unattended envelope, an unlocked door. She knows secrets no one suspects her of knowing. She knows that her family moved to the close-knit island of Vane because her famous scientist father was fleeing a reputation-destroying scandal. And she knows, when her father is discovered dead shortly thereafter, that he was murdered.

In pursuit of justice and revenge, Faith hunts through her father's possessions and discovers a strange tree. The tree bears fruit only when she whispers a lie to it. The fruit of the tree, when eaten, delivers a hidden truth. The tree might hold the key to her father's murder - or it may lure the murderer directly to Faith herself."

Definitely shouldn't judge a book by its cover. I saw the posters in a local book store and fell in love with the gorgeous cover. So finally managed to borrow a copy and I wish I hadn't. Don't get me wrong. The story had so much promise and wasn't the worst book I have ever read but sometimes the writing left a lot to be desired and I found myself reading some lines repeatedly and even reading them out loud and asking my partner what things meant. When even he couldn't understand some parts I got annoyed with it. 

I got to the point where I would just put the book down and do anything other than carry on. I hate giving up on books so persisted till the end. In a way I'm glad I did as the story picked up within the last few chapters but then parts of it seemed really rushed.

2/5 stars