As you read the reviews on Bookshop Talk, you'll notice that every review is positive. No, we're not a bunch of literary
pushovers who love everything we pick up; we just see no point in telling you about a book if we didn't like it.

November 2, 2015

PERFECT LIES by Kiersten White, 2014


Annie and Fia are ready to fight back. The sisters have been manipulated and controlled by the Keane Foundation for years, trapped in a never ending battle for survival. Now they have found allies who can help them truly escape. After faking her own death, Annie has joined a group that is plotting to destroy the Foundation. And Fia is working with James Keane to bring his father down from the inside. But Annie's visions of the future can't show her who to trust in the present. And though James is Fia's first love, Fia knows he's hiding something. The sisters can rely only on each other - but that may not be enough to save them. (Goodreads)

Reviewed by Valette M.

Annie and Fia are two desperately loyal sisters who would do anything to keep the other safe, even if it means they themselves get ripped apart. In this stunning sequel to Mind Games the coin is flipped -- Annie seemingly free but Fia trapped back at the school. However thick the web of intrigue binding Fia with the Keane's, the stronger prison is the one that she builds in her own mind as her choices gradually kill her. Keirsten White portrays this dance along the edge of madness masterfully, and the frenetic, terrified tone of her sections are haunting in first person. I could feel the fragile threads of her mind and was tied to my chair as they unraveled. Calm, caring, centered Annie creates a nice juxtaposition to her sister as she grows stronger and more self-assured. Before now, mostly in Fia's mind, she was portrayed as weaker somehow. After all, she is blind. Of course that doesn't stop her, and she takes the world head on. Both sisters were fascinating.

The twisting plot from Mind Games deepens with PERFECT LIES, though I felt like the focus was more on the characters, and understandably so. Mr. Keane, Jason, and Lerner are in it to win and they will do so unscrupulously, not caring for the lives they shred. And Fia's life has been shredded. She has been shredded and faces self-destruction as she struggles to make choices with no morals to guide her. Kill this person. Trap this person. It will all be worth it in the end if she can bring down the leader, right? She will protect Annie. I loved the closure the ending provided, almost bittersweet. And was great to read a book with a focus on sibling loyalty. Filled with shifting timelines, more thriller and edge than Mind Games, Perfect Lies is dramatic, concise, and sharp.

Kiersten White uses language beautifully to convey the stirring tale of two sisters who just want the madness to end. This tale is wrenching and darkly intense. Kiersten White continues to set the bar higher, and I look forward to what she gives us next.

Market: Young Adult
Language: Mild
Sensuality: Moderate to heavy
Violence: Moderate
Mature Themes: Depression, Loss

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