Written by Melissa Platt
Peter Blankman is a teen math prodigy with a very extreme anxiety disorder and he finds himself in a web of lies involving everyone he knows, including his mother, sister, and best (and only) friend. Peter gets through the day with the help of his sister Bel and mother, who is a famous scientist, however, Peter must go it alone when his mother is nearly assassinated and his sister goes missing. He finds himself on the run and dragged into world of secrets and lies, will he be the brave kid he wants to be or will his enemies inside get the better of him?
This story has many sides to it and it starts off seeming as though it would primarily focus on mental illness, but then goes into a high action story involving spies and includes disturbing truths of the world. One minute your heart is racing then the next you feel nauseated with dread. All the emotions of the story keep a reader propelling through the pages, however, at times it makes it hard to stay engaged because you have too many feelings. Most of the story has a very eerie vibe to it and this can sometimes deter a reader, but with this book, it gives you the feeling that you need to look over your shoulder, which really intensifies the plot. Throughout the book there are scenes that can be disturbing since there are things that are so real and by including them in this book, it helps add a level of authenticity.
The plot of the story hooks a reader and keeps them there, however, sometimes in the book it just seemed that the author was just throwing things in there to lengthen the story. This book has a very intriguing start and a heartbreakingly good ending. There were many plot twists that keep a reader guessing and wanting more, but sometimes it just seemed like too much. The full plot was well delivered and made for an interesting, yet exciting, read and there were many parts that no one could see coming. However, like previously mentioned, there were quite a few plot twists, especially near the end and these got hard to follow at times because there was so much going on.
But, holy moly does this book keep you on your toes! The author has managed to portray emotions and make the reader feel all the feels. This skill greatly helped the book and get the readers to read till the bitter, and exciting, end. Tom Pollock was able to carry two genres throughout the whole book by making Peter have this extreme disorder, but force him into a world of action and lies. This detail greatly enhanced the story because it almost gave the feel of two separate stories combining as one. The book is full of action, but also expresses mental health; two things that a person wouldn’t expect to make a good story.
The characters of the story are very complex and very well portrayed. Each of them has something that makes them imperfect, but that’s what makes for a good character. Throughout the book, they all develop greatly, and we see different sides of them, some bad and some good. The main character, Peter, is a character that so many can relate to because he is trying to find where he belongs in life. Obviously, most people never have to be in the situation he is in, but you can still see an underlying issue he has that everyone gets with shyness to bravery. With the other characters, they are good characters, but not as relatable.
Overall, this book was very fast-paced and jumpy at times; the action started early on in the book (which is good), but how fast everything moved made the storyline a bit confusing. That said though, the book in its entirety was good. It was nice to see two separate genres come together as one to form something worth reading. The book did also have some disturbing parts throughout, but not enough to turn a reader off.
This Story Is A Lie (which is also known as White Rabbit, Red Wolf in other countries) is available on Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers.
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Synopsis | Goodreads
A YA thriller described as The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time meets John le Carré, about a teen math prodigy with an extreme anxiety disorder who finds himself caught in a web of lies and conspiracies after an assassination attempt on his mother.
Seventeen-year-old Peter Blankman is a math genius who suffers from an extreme anxiety disorder, one that subjects him to intense panic attacks. He only manages to get through his daily life with the constant help of his scientist mom and his beloved twin sister, Bel. But when their mother is nearly assassinated in front of their eyes–during a major awards ceremony in her honor–Pete finds himself separated from Bel, alone, and on the run.
Dragged into a strange world where state and family secrets intertwine, Pete has to use his extraordinary analytical skills to find his missing sister, uncover the mystery of his mother’s life’s work, and track down the people who attacked her–all the while fighting to keep a grip on the fear response that threatens to overwhelm him. Weaving back and forth between his past and present, the novel is an extraodinary testimonial from a protagonist who is brilliant, broken, and trying to be brave.
