By Nick Lake (author)
"A real page turner told from two narrative points of view - with a most unexpected ending"
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Award-winning Nick Lake tells a complex story fusing two strands of narrative into a richly woven single thread. Seventeen-year-old Shelby Cooper has always been very protected by her mother; she guesses it is partly because she is deaf, partly because her dad is dead and partly she had a terrible accident when she was a baby.
But when she is knocked over by a car, her life takes a whole new turn. Suddenly she and her Mom are on the run and everything that she has known about her life before is suddenly questioned. What is the truth? And will she ever discover it? As her life unravels, Shelby retreats into a fantasy world of the Dreaming a place infused with old, old Mythology.
Part-adventure, part-mystery and part a teenager’s journey of self-discovery, There Will Be Lies is dramatic and unexpected in equal measure.
Shelby Jane Cooper is seventeen, pretty and quiet. It's just Shelby and her mom, Shaylene, a court stenographer who wears pyjama jeans, stitches tapestry, eats ice-cream for dinner and likes to keep Shelby safe. So safe she barely goes out.
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So safe she doesn't go to school. Because anything could happen, to a girl like Shelby. Anything.
When Shelby gets knocked down by a car, it's not just her leg that's broken: Shelby's world is shattered. Her mom turns up to collect her and drives off into the night, like it's the beginning of a road trip, like two criminals on the run, like Thelma and Louise or Bonnie and Clyde. And somehow, everywhere she looks, there's a coyote watching her, talking to her, telling her not to believe.
Who is Shelby Jane Cooper? If the person who keeps you safe also tells you lies, who can you trust?
Nick Lake is the critically-acclaimed author of many YA novels. His books have won several prizes including the Michael L. Printz Award, and have been shortlisted three times for the Carnegie Medal - most recently for his novel Nowhere on Earth. Nick is also the Fiction Publisher at HarperCollins Children’s Books. He lives with his family in Oxfordshire, in a very old house protected by magical symbols..
Previous occupations: Student, and then book editor. Which I still am. Favourite job: Being a book editor. No one told me at school that there was a job where you got paid for being a fan of writers and writing.
High school and/or college: I went to High School in Luxembourg, and I went to Oxford University after that for a degree and then a fairly pointless masters. In phonetics, of all things.
Name of your favourite composer or music artist? The Pixies. Favourite movie: I usually lie and go for something clever like Vertigo . But really it's True Romance . How would you describe your life in only 8 words? I would use the word "busy" eight times.
What is your motto or maxim? To paraphrase the existentialists - life is what you make it. Which amounts to a practical kind of karma, I suppose.
How would you describe perfect happiness? A fire, a good chair and a new Stephen King book. Or the moment the soundchecks finish and the band take to the stage. Or sunset on the mountains, with weary feet, and the lights of a pub ahead. Or the sound of a breakbeat. Or a very sweet tea, anywhere in the Middle East, at any time of day.
What’s your greatest fear? Not being good.
Which living person do you most admire? Haruki Murakami. Stephen King. Anyone who works for Medecins sans Frontieres or Amnesty International.
What are your most overused words or phrases? "Apparently".
If you could acquire any talent, what would it be? The abillity to play a musical instrument well. Also, the ability to speak all languages fluently.
What is your greatest achievement? Meeting my wife.
If you could be any person or thing, who or what would it be? I wouldn't mind being Simon Cowell. I could make The X-Factor go away. Not to mention R&B flavoured pop music.
What trait is most noticeable about you? I have no idea. My hair? It's usually quite big, because I keep forgetting to have it cut. I look like the freakish son of Tom Hanks and David Hasselhoff.
Who is your favourite fictional hero? Sally Lockhart.
Who is your favourite fictional villain? Steerpike. (Also hero.)
If you could meet any historical character, who would it be and what would you say to him or her? I'd like to meet Shakespeare and I'd ask him how to write better.
What is your favourite occupation, when you’re not writing? Reading? Actually probably sleeping, to be honest.
What’s your fantasy profession? Bestselling and universally admired author.
What 3 personal qualities are most important to you? Compassion. Empathy. Humour.
If you could eat only one thing for the rest of your days, what would it be? Chocolate, in any form.
What are your 5 favourite songs? Hmmm. "Beat It"; "Here, There and Everywhere" by the Beatles; "U-Mass" by the Pixies; "Heartbeat" by Annie and "Etched Headplate" by Burial On Books and Writing: Who are your favourite authors? Haruki Murakami. Stephen King. Neil Gaiman. Margaret Atwood. Joan Didion. Ismail Kadare. Philip Reeve. Philip Pullman. Meg Rosoff.
What are your 5 favourite books of all time? Tough one. I guess... Middlemarch ; Coraline ; For Whom the Bell Tolls ; the collected works of Shakespeare... and Little, Big , by John Crowley - the single most unfairly overlooked, beautiful, miraculous and magical book I know.
Do you have one sentence of advice for new writers? I wouldn't presume to think of myself as someone anyone might look to for advice! But I suppose I'd tell them to read as much as possible, in as many genres as possible.
What comment do you hear most often from your readers? "You're very... imaginative aren't you." I think they mean I'm strange.
Nick Lake introduces There Will Be Lies : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHahGI6t5Qk
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Shelby Jane Cooper is seventeen, pretty and quiet. It's just Shelby and her mom, Shaylene, a court stenographer who wears pyjama jeans, stitches tapestry, eats ice-cream for dinner and likes to keep Shelby safe.
The LoveReading4Kids Editorial Team have read and reviewed There Will be Lies and determined it is suitable for children aged 11-18 years old
There Will be Lies features in the following genres: Books of the Month, Recommendations, Books Reviewed by our Reader Review Panels, Featured Books for 13+ readers, Thrillers, Adventure Stories, Children's and Young Adult Fiction, Children’s, Teenage and Educational, Recommended Children's eBooks, Featured Books for Young Adults, Featured Books for 11+ readers
Paperback, Hardback. £7.19, down from the £7.99 cover price. Not Available.
There Will be Lies was written by Nick Lake and published by Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
There Will be Lies has 453 pages
£7.19, reduced from £7.99. Not Available.
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