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Frances Hardinge
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The Lie Tree: A Novel Paperback – September 19, 2017

by Frances Hardinge (Author)
4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 4,455 ratings
Editors' pick Best Young Adult
See all formats and editions

A teenage girl unravels lies and magic to solve her father’s murder in The Lie Tree, an unforgettable and thought-provoking YA historical fantasy from award-winning novelist Frances Hardinge.

Winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Young Adult Literature, a Boston Globe–Horn Book Award for Fiction, and a Costa Book of the Year
An ALA/ALSC Notable Children’s Book and an ALA/YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults Top Ten selection

Faith Sunderly leads a double life. To most people, she is modest and well mannered—a proper young lady who knows her place. But inside, Faith is burning with questions and curiosity. She keeps sharp watch of her surroundings and, therefore, knows secrets no one suspects her of knowing—like the real reason her family fled Kent to the close-knit island of Vane. And that her father’s death was no accident.

In pursuit of revenge and justice for the father she idolizes, Faith hunts through his possessions, where she discovers a strange tree. A tree that bears fruit only when she whispers a lie to it. The fruit, in turn, delivers a hidden truth. The tree might hold the key to her father’s murder. Or, it might lure the murderer directly to Faith herself, for lies—like fires, wild and crackling—quickly take on a life of their own.

Previous page
  1. Print length
    400 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Harry N. Abrams
  4. Publication date
    September 19, 2017
  5. Grade level
    8 and up
  6. Reading age
    13 years and up
  7. Dimensions
    5.75 x 1.25 x 8.5 inches
  8. ISBN-10
    1419726412
  9. ISBN-13
    978-1419726415
  10. Lexile measure
    860L
  11. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Frances Hardinge is the winner of the Costa Book of the Year for The Lie Tree, one of just two young adult novels to win the major UK literary prize. She is the author of several books for children, including Cuckoo Song, The Lost Conspiracy, Fly by Night, Well Witched, and Fly Trap. She lives in England.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Harry N. Abrams; Reprint edition (September 19, 2017)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 400 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1419726412
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1419726415
  • Reading age ‏ : ‎ 13 years and up
  • Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ 860L
  • Grade level ‏ : ‎ 8 and up
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 14.1 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.75 x 1.25 x 8.5 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 4,455 ratings

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Frances Hardinge

Frances Hardinge

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Customer reviews

4.2 out of 5 stars
4.2 out of 5
4,455 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Jack Shea
5.0 out of 5 stars An Excellent Immersive Adventure
Reviewed in the United States on June 13, 2016
Verified Purchase
This book was passively recommended to me by Jennifer Evans van der Harten, who is a song-writer, instrumentalist, vocalist, wife, lover and high-priestess with the European music group Omnia. (I saw her reading it in a blog picture.)

The main plot is a classic whodunit in a Victorian English setting. The protagonist is a fourteen-year old upper middle-class girl who makes it her special mission to both prove and solve what she has concluded was the murder of her adored authoritarian cleric/paleontologist father. In order to do this, she must seek the aid of his mysterious plant called The Lie Tree which, in return for being told lies that are then circulated in the community, provides fruit which, when eaten, gives dreams that use allegory to reveal hidden secrets. The trick, of course, lies in correctly interpreting the sometimes ambiguous allegories.

Even though, much like the Harry Potter novels, the intended readership of the book appears to be bookish young British teens and tweens (in this case of the female gender), the author has gone to great pains to create a totally immersive and convincing mid-Victorian atmosphere. This, along with her power of description and scene-setting using colorful similes and metaphors, should, again like the Harry Potter series, make the book a fascinating read for adults as well as adolescents. Admittedly, the fact that some readers find the nineteenth-century style attention to detail (and therefore the overall pacing) to not be their cup of tea (or bottle of Red Bull) probably means that this book will not suit everybody. When pressed, I'll admit that I find the middle sections of some of the Potter books to drag while I'm anxious to get on with the main plot, usually resolved with lightning speed in the last two chapters.

Some of the sub-plots, involving patriarchal authority--and even tyranny--during the period covered, as well as the wrenching doubts created both among naturalists, many of whom were clerics, as well as among the literate public by the Darwinian theory of evolution, provide the background for the specific actions of this novel. Likewise the tragic aspects of the social repression of women and girls--especially those who didn't fit the familial ideal of daughters, sisters, lovers, wives and mothers--are treated in some detail. No doubt it was, in those respects, a man's world. Whether this was balanced by the necessity of daily competition by males in science, business, politics, the arts, academia, and even religion, and periodically in open warfare, is an ongoing question.
5 people found this helpful
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Michelle Boytim
4.0 out of 5 stars A tree fed by lies bears a fruit of truth
Reviewed in the United States on October 8, 2022
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This gothic tale focuses on a girl named Faith. Her father is a well known scientist, recently known for a fossil that Faith discovered. However, things have been strange lately and the family relocates to the small island of Vane. Her father is obsessed with a botanical specimen, one that he asks Faith to help him hide in a sea cave. When her father ends up dead, the truth about the family’s circumstances begin to come to light and Faith begins to wonder if her father has been murdered. As she digs through his notes, she learns of a disturbing history for the tree and its potential powers that require it to be fed with lies. Faith is determined to find the truth, but she may not be able to succeed without succumbing to the power of the tree.
One person found this helpful
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Donyale Y. Harrison
5.0 out of 5 stars Twistingly dark and gripping
Reviewed in the United States on August 16, 2015
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When her father, the eminent natural scientist and religious minister, stands accused of fraud, 14-year-old Faith finds her family uprooted and shipped off to a small island where they hope for social salvation, or at least space to gather themselves to face the storm. What follows is anything but. Told through the voice of a young Victorian woman who is torn between corsets and chaperones on one hand, and a passionate intellectual curiosity and talent for natural science on the other, the story follows a twisting turning tale as the essential truths of Faith's life are one by one turned inside out. A little bit of Mary Anning and a lot of Gothic horror sprinkle the pages, but with a satisfying drama that sees a heroine prepared to match the grim deeds of others with her own in the name of truth. Frances Hardinge's passion for language makes every page a joy to read, and Faith and her enemy/friend Paul have a satisfying reality to them. Even the villains of the piece are intriguing and understandable. While it's theoretically a YA book, there is a strength to the writing that makes it wholly enjoyable for adult readers, too. Notes on the place of women in Victorian society and the use and misuse of privilege resonate beyond the page.
2 people found this helpful
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avid reader
3.0 out of 5 stars Not my cup of tea
Reviewed in the United States on September 21, 2016
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I had a hard time reading this as the plot was one I found pretty far fetched. The end had a nice twist, but the book as a whole left me cold.
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navyblue
5.0 out of 5 stars Huge fan
Reviewed in the United States on December 14, 2016
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It is a bit cliche to make the battle between science and religion as such, BUT, Hardinge is a brilliant writer, and she makes it work.

Her writing, as ever, is brilliant - it's full and rich and incredibly beautiful. I liked the main character, Faith. She's a girl in an oppressive society who finds ways to battle with her inner sense of right and wrong and doggedly solves the mystery. I found the whole book to be a page turner -- I had a hard time putting it down. The mystery was well done, and the somewhat gothic, creepy, Victorian setting was perfect for Hardinge's particular flavor of tale spinning. Post mortem photos! Phrenology! Patriarchy! Burgeoning Natural Science study by gentlemen scientists!

I did guess the 'whodunit' before the end because I remembered a key clue, but that didn't detract from the overall story. I found the characters complex and very interesting. The ending was satisfying, and the relationship between mother and daughter more promising than it had been at first. I do wish we had Howard, Faith's little brother, in the closing scene. He must be there, but he is notably absent from the description. I wonder if this was intentional, but I loved his character so much, I missed him at the end.

I really enjoyed it overall, and anxiously await whatever Hardinge delivers up next.
11 people found this helpful
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mildred shackleford
4.0 out of 5 stars good read
Reviewed in the United States on April 21, 2023
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had more depth than expected. did not expect a treatise on lives of women ;their treatment how easily they are ignored and destroyed and how prevalent it is today
One person found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

T-Man
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Writing!!!
Reviewed in Canada on August 29, 2021
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It was a very intriguing read from start to finish. I thoroughly enjoyed it. :) I hope the author has more books like this.
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SARAVANAN D
5.0 out of 5 stars Frantically paced and gripping
Reviewed in India on February 12, 2020
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I have always considered my days of non-fiction reading to be over. But this book really caught my attention and kept me engaged. I read this book through in as much continuous pace as I could as it transported me to London life sometime in the past.

The writing is vivid, the story gripping and evokes sense of tragedy, horror, thrill and really transports one to different world.
3 people found this helpful
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happydays
5.0 out of 5 stars This book deserves its Costa price
Reviewed in France on November 20, 2016
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This book is very evocatively written with very rich vocabulary. It has sofisticated and unpredictable characters and good tension. It is a story written from the perspective of a very intelligent and inquisitative child, which tries to understand the world of the grown ups around her. Her father a stern old fashioned naturalist has dark secret, which she discovers. His behaviour brings shame and death and loss of everything over the family. The book was advertised as a book for young adult readers as it has a very strong moral. It is more intresting for women, not only because of its female protagonist but also because of its critsism of the science establishment and the society 1864 who denied women their role in science.
One person found this helpful
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Caitlin Evans
5.0 out of 5 stars Victorian mystery with a strong female lead
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 12, 2016
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There’s been a lot of hype surrounding this book. Its own special displays in Waterstones book shops and numerous mentions in blog posts on new anticipated releases. I hadn’t read a good old historical mystery in a while, so I was intrigued by the unique premise of The Lie Tree.

And let me tell you, the hype is well deserved. The eerie mystery of the lie tree; the bleak and claustrophobic island of Vane; Faith’s dysfunctional family. The book had quite a dark tone to it, but it wasn’t sombre. Faith didn’t wallow in her own sorrows, but she wasn’t immune to her emotions either.

She’s maybe a little meek at the beginning, but you can see she has the potential to grow, anger and intelligence carefully concealed beneath the image of the dutiful daughter. When her father dies of a rumoured suicide, Faith’s family is disgraced. The islanders shun them, servants spread malicious gossip, and Faith’s mother seems more concerned with her funeral dress than anything else. The death of her father is just enough to tip Faith over the edge, to reveal the bright spark beneath. And wow, I was really impressed with Faith once she got going.

She’s smart, calculating, even malicious when she needs to be. But you never hate her for it; she’s only mean when others are mean to her. She gives as good as she gets, especially when it comes to her reluctant ally Paul Clay. I loved their dynamic, their retorts. Faith really is a strong heroine, determined to set things right at any cost. She battles against the patriarchal forces trying to keep her from her passion for the natural sciences, even if it means playing the dull-witted daughter to get her way. I really enjoyed Faith as a character and many YA novelists could take some tips from Hardinge on how to craft a female protagonist that is actually strong and witty instead of being argumentative and selfish. She’s not rude for the sake of it, in a bid to seem funny or independent; she uses words to her tactical advantage, but is still ultimately compassionate, a caring sister to her little brother Howard.

The mystery is also one that keeps you guessing. Faith believes her father’s death is in fact a murder, and I had my suspicions from the beginning. They proved to be true, but I was never really sure; Hardinge definitely kept me guessing. All her characters are well-rounded and interesting, the roles they play in the Reverend’s murder tantalisingly ambiguous.

The book was a neat little package. Strong lead, unpredictable mystery, believable fantastical moments. If you haven’t already picked up a copy then I really suggest you do; you won’t regret it.
One person found this helpful
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Hannah
5.0 out of 5 stars A flowering of new and dangerous things in the night
Reviewed in Australia on August 27, 2015
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Frances Hardinge has an extraordinary gift for writing girls with hungers and curiosities and desires, girls who feel wrong and strange and out of sorts, but here she has outdone herself. I have fallen completely in love with the winding vines and tendrils of this book, its sharp observations and fierce characters and the way that its central character, Faith Sunderly, unfurls and spreads her wings for ill and good.
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