 First edition | |
| Author | Julie Johnston |
|---|---|
| Country | Canada |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Young adult historical novel |
| Publisher | McClelland & Stewart |
Publication date | 2013 |
| Media type | |
| Pages | 340 pp |
| ISBN | 9781770493131 |
| OCLC | 877910198 |
Little Red Lies is a 2013 young adult novel by Canadian author Julie Johnston. The coming of age novel is set immediately after World War II in a small Canadian town. [1] [2]
Rachel McLaren as she navigates her relationships with her brother Jamie, her inappropriate high school drama teacher, her parents, and others.
Reviews of Little Red Lies have been mostly positive with starred reviews from Kirkus Reviews , [3] and Booklist . [4]
Voice of Youth Advocates was impressed, writing ".. the plethora of plot threads could turn into bathos but Johnston weaves them into a believable, engaging story.", [5] and School Library Journal found it "A quiet, thoughtful novel, with more introspection than action.". [6]
Little Red Lies has also been reviewed by Publishers Weekly , [7] The Horn Book Magazine , [8] The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books , [9] and the Historical Novels Review . [10]
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Filled with bumbling characters who achingly love each other, this coming-of-age tale rises above a crowded field to take readers on a moving journey of discovery.
Johnston has crafted a beautifully written, low-key, yet emotional story of a family dealing with the return of a son at the close of war.
Although this coming-of-age story includes perhaps a few too many tragic elements (leukemia and a predatory teacher also factor in), Johnston gives equal weight to struggles major and trivial as she sensitively examines the painful process of rebuilding one's life under the most difficult of circumstances.
Johnston (The Only Outcast, rev. 1/99; In Spite of Killer Bees, rev. 1/02) plays out her very rich themes thoroughly yet with great subtlety, and in Rachel she creates a narrator as sympathetic as she is (for the time being) naive.
Although this Canadian import is a work of historical fiction, readers who favor domestic drama will be the audience most appreciative of Rachel's social missteps.
Johnston's writing is smooth and competent; dialogue and pacing move the story along without trip-ups.