Reading Group: High School+
Personal Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars
Synopses: In Seven Ways We Lie, a chance encounter tangles the lives of seven high school students, each resisting the allure of one of the seven deadly sins, and each telling their story from their seven distinct points of view.
The juniors at Paloma High School all have their secrets, whether it’s the thespian who hides her trust issues onstage, the closeted pansexual who only cares about his drug-dealing profits, or the neurotic genius who’s planted the seed of a school scandal. But it’s Juniper Kipling who has the furthest to fall. No one would argue that Juniper—obedient daughter, salutatorian, natural beauty, and loyal friend—is anything but perfect. Everyone knows she’s a saint, not a sinner; but when love is involved, who is Juniper to resist temptation? When she begins to crave more and more of the one person she can’t have, her charmed life starts to unravel.
Then rumors of a student–teacher affair hit the fan. After Juniper accidentally exposes her secret at a party, her fate falls into the hands of the other six sinners, bringing them into one another’s orbits. All seven are guilty of something. Together, they could save one another from their temptations—or be ruined by them.
Riley Redgate’s twisty YA debut effortlessly weaves humor, heartbreak, and redemption into a drama that fans of Jenny Han and Stephanie Perkins will adore.
The juniors at Paloma High School all have their secrets, whether it’s the thespian who hides her trust issues onstage, the closeted pansexual who only cares about his drug-dealing profits, or the neurotic genius who’s planted the seed of a school scandal. But it’s Juniper Kipling who has the furthest to fall. No one would argue that Juniper—obedient daughter, salutatorian, natural beauty, and loyal friend—is anything but perfect. Everyone knows she’s a saint, not a sinner; but when love is involved, who is Juniper to resist temptation? When she begins to crave more and more of the one person she can’t have, her charmed life starts to unravel.
Then rumors of a student–teacher affair hit the fan. After Juniper accidentally exposes her secret at a party, her fate falls into the hands of the other six sinners, bringing them into one another’s orbits. All seven are guilty of something. Together, they could save one another from their temptations—or be ruined by them.
Riley Redgate’s twisty YA debut effortlessly weaves humor, heartbreak, and redemption into a drama that fans of Jenny Han and Stephanie Perkins will adore.
Cover: I really like this cover. I think there is something almost comical about the fact that it's "Hello, my name is..." stickers with the seven deadly sins. Very seldom does someone come straight out and say they're sinned or done something wrong, but that's what these stickers do. They introduce you. I like it because everyone has succumbed to all of the seven deadly sins at some point in their lives.
My Review: I found this book to be very real, and I'm entirely sure why because nothing like this happened in my high school, but I just feel like it could. The story follows seven different people going through Junior Year in their own way. There are lies and secrets and jealousy and rumors, which definitely happens in high school (and beyond). Olivia made a reputation for herself that she doesn't deny but also questions the double standard of, Kat is trying to isolate herself from everyone around her, Matt is more than he appears to be, Claire can't stop comparing herself to her friends, Juniper seems to have everything figured out but still gets herself into sticky situations, Lucas is scared to tell the truth about himself, and Valentine is struggling to figure out exactly who he is. I liked that the book was told from all of their points of view and not one character figuring this all out about them because some things stay between different characters as they form bonds with each other. All of these kids just want to be recognized for who they are and try to live a life that makes them happy even with outside circumstances that aren't. Junior year is tough because it's the year everything starts to matter for college, and you're at an age where you're basically an adult. It's a crazy year, and it's definitely easier to playoff struggles at home or within yourself than have them add to the stress. But it gets to be too much and reactions differ from person to person: Matt & Olivia and Lucas & Valentine have each other, Juniper drinks, Kat quits her passion, and Claire does hurtful things to the people around her. This book did a great job of showing how everyone reacts differently to situations.
There were two things about the story that I didn't really like. One was that Claire never admits that Lucas was right and she compares herself to others. I think by the end she knows she needs to stop comparing and judging, and she has that moment of guilt when she realizes Lucas knows it was her who started the rumors about him and a teacher, but she never outright admits he was right and I wish she did. Second, I personally don't think a school would give as much information about the student-teacher affair as they did. Maybe they would hold the assembly at the beginning of the story, but I'm not 100% convinced, and I really don't think they would announce over the loudspeaker what teacher it was and that he turned himself in. I feel like that's such bad attention on the school that they would try to keep it under wraps.
There were two things about the story that I didn't really like. One was that Claire never admits that Lucas was right and she compares herself to others. I think by the end she knows she needs to stop comparing and judging, and she has that moment of guilt when she realizes Lucas knows it was her who started the rumors about him and a teacher, but she never outright admits he was right and I wish she did. Second, I personally don't think a school would give as much information about the student-teacher affair as they did. Maybe they would hold the assembly at the beginning of the story, but I'm not 100% convinced, and I really don't think they would announce over the loudspeaker what teacher it was and that he turned himself in. I feel like that's such bad attention on the school that they would try to keep it under wraps.
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