I do love a good YA book particularly if it’s one that deals with real issues and really gets me thinking. That’s exactly what White Lies by Zoe Markham did and I have to say that I really did enjoy it. Having not read Zoe’s previous book, I had no idea what to expect in terms of her writing style but this didn’t matter as I quickly fell in love with it, meaning the book completely exceeded all of my expectations.
With both of her parents in the army and therefore not settling down anywhere for very long, we first meet Abigail as she is being dropped off to begin life at yet another new school. This time though there’s a difference as, with her mum now going to join her dad abroad, Abigail will be a boarder. Although reluctant and upset at the thought of being separated from both her parents for an indefinite period of time, Abigail wants nothing more than to move forwards in her life and seems determined to make it work. But her mental strength doesn’t last long and soon after she arrives at the school things spiral drastically and dramatically out of control.
This book is quite honestly great and says a lot for Zoe’s talent as an author with it successfully dealing with and combining a number of different topics and themes. One theme that particularly stood out to me throughout the novel was that of mental health. For many reasons this is a topic that I’m always interested to read about and fully support it being included in YA literature given that it is a real issue that affects real lives in unimaginable ways. Awareness of it should and must be raised.
Zoe’s writing style is something which I found to be extremely powerful in so much as she really made me feel so many different emotions whilst reading this book. I also found that I was instantly able to connect and emphasise with Abigail and all that she was going through. The author has also been extremely clever whilst writing this book, drip-feeding us vital information in a way that builds the tension and leaves you feeling compelled to keep turning the pages. There was also several unexpected twists in this book which kept me on my toes, the biggest of which came right towards the end - I never saw it coming!
This was such a brilliant book and I’m so lucky to have got the chance to read and review it as part of the blog tour. I honestly can’t wait to catch up with Zoe’s previous book but am also really looking forward to reading more that Zoe writes in the future. If you’re looking for a tension-filled, YA thriller that you will not be able to put down then White Lies by Zoe Markham is the book for you. Excellent!
