Lies Like Wildfire

Was a recommended YA book from school list but tween daughter didn’t rate it - wasn’t exciting enough for her.

Hannah, Nathaniel (Drummer) Maureen (Mo) Luke and Violet had been best friends since they were seven years old. They were known in the small town of Gap Mountain in rural California as The Monsters, a nickname that they had been given on the day they became friends after they were the only kids who volunteered to play the wild things in a summer daycare production of Where The Wild Things Are. The group were now in their late teens and spending what could be their last summer together before the girls went off to their respective colleges.But, one hot day in July, their plans for the future went up in smoke when they accidentally started a forest fire which swiftly turned into a wildfire that destroyed parts of the town and left devastation, destruction and death in its wake.Terrified of the consequences of their action, the teens made a pact of silence but some of them are not as strong willed as the others and lies like wildfires have a habit of getting out of control.When the investigation into the origins of the fire begins to yield results and the law enforcement agency's start questioning the friends,splinters and cracks start to appear in their once tight knit group, loyalties are tested and then, one night, one of the monsters mysteriously disappears...This thrilling, captivating story is written in two sections and voiced entirely from the perspective of Hannah who was the daughter of the sheriff and planned to study criminal justice at college. Hannah was a complex and very difficult to like individual who appeared to be the unofficial leader of The Monsters (at least that was the way she made it appear throughout her narrative) To be honest, I thought she came across as quite immature at times and her only redeemable qualities were her love for her horses and bloodhound Matilda. Her loyalty to her friends came across as admirable but were her actions for their benefit or for her own preservation? The other members of the group of friends were realistic, relatable individuals, my favourite of which was Mo. I did feel a bit of sympathy for Luke and I loved how much he cared and worried about his younger brother Aiden. I also really liked Violet's grandmother Lulu, I thought she was a fantastic, feisty, fiercely loyal individual.This is a beautifully described story, from the stunning scenery to the breath taking combination of beauty and devastation that was the wildfire. The description of the fear and terror of the evacuees and animals as the fire raged across the parched land were so realistic that the reader could close their eyes and imagine the scenes in their head and feel the heat from the flames scoring your skin.This is a extremely well written, debut y/a thriller that rockets along faster than a wildfire that is caught in a gust of wind. It's a gripping, addictive read that had me hooked in from the first page and so captivated that I read the whole book in one sitting. I would love to watch a film or tv adaptation of this incredible book. Worth all the stars and more, very very highly recommended and definitely going to be one of my favourite reads of this year.

Lies Like Wildfire is a compelling and intense, high stakes story about five friends and the deadly secret that could send their lives up in flames. In Gap Mountain, California, everyone knows about fire season. And no one is more vigilant than 18-year-old Hannah Warner, the sheriff's daughter and an aspiring FBI agent. That is until this summer. Hannah and her best friends, Mo, Luke, Violet and Drummer, who have been closer than close-knit since they were all 7 years old living in their small forest town close to Yosemite, cause an unfortunate accident. It's during one of their regular trips to the local lake to hang out when they spark a raging wildfire while smoking weed. It swiftly becomes enormous and deadly and terrified of the possible repercussions their instinct is to lie to the police and the fire investigators especially due to Hannah's knowledge of the law. But as the blaze roars through their rural town and towards Yosemite National Park causing both loss of property and loss of life in the process, Hannah's friends begin to crack and she finds herself going to extreme lengths to protect their secret. Their relationships are now fraught with tension with each wondering if the others can be trusted, and when a stupid decision leads to more of the same, it seems as though they will never be able to tell the truth about what happened that summer evening.Everyone knows that sometimes good people do bad things, but if there’s one thing people hate, it’s liars. And then Violet vanishes completely. This is a compulsive and quick-paced thriller about the impact and toll that mistruths and maintaining a facade can take on your mental health and friendship group. It's a tense and wickedly twisty young adult debut that indirectly touches on the issue of climate change, the associated wildfires that have been burning recently in both Australia and the United States and the catastrophic effect they have on those who live or work in the fire's path. It explores guilt, envy, survival and accountability and is divided into 2 sections: before Violet’s disappearance and after it. Told solely from Hannah’s perspective, it allows you to become fully immersed in the narrative without the constantly shifting viewpoints that tend to spoil some novels and highlights the complex and now ever-evolving dynamics between the friends. As this is a character-driven thriller, we absorb each characters interesting backstory which addresses issues such as financial troubles, domestic abuse, toxic friendship and their imminent graduation from school which will ensure they go their separate ways. A captivating and, at times, heart-pumping page-turner perfect for fans of Karen McManus and E. Lockhart. Gritty, entertaining, and highly recommended.