Lies Like Love is a book which is not what it seems at first. It’s a book with a frustratingly ambiguous blurb so I will elaborate here.
Audrey is a sixteen year old girl who has mental health issues and she is embarking on a tentative new relationship with an older boy, Leo.
However, her mother is worried that due to her health problems she should not have a boyfriend. Audrey faces several situations which push her to the brink – but who is doing the pushing?
I found the relationship between Audrey and her little brother to be among the most tender which I have ever read. Her five year old brother is her salvation is many ways; her reason for going on when her life is so dark.
Leo also has his own demons but I found his tentative love story with Audrey to be less compelling than I’d hoped.
The end of the novel brought up a lot more questions than answers, and therefore left me dissatisfied. I almost hope that the author will write a sequel because I really want to know what happens next; is there any future for Audrey and Leo, what kind of boy does Peter grow up to be, does Audrey’s health remain stable?
This is a brave book because it discusses family issues that are often too difficult to articulate. It’s just a shame that the ending doesn’t give us and the characters the closure which we deserve after being so invested in the story.
