Title: If the Witness LiedAuthor: Caroline B. Cooney
HARDBACK
Amount of Pages: 244
Publisher: Random House, Inc.
Release Date: May 12, 2009
Geared Towards: Teens +
Summary (From School Library Journal): Three orphaned teenage siblings, separated by the tragic supposed patricide of their father by their two-year-old brother, reunite a year later to save this same brother from the clutches of their evil aunt, who wants to sell them out on a tell-all television show. The plot involves a lot of aimless meandering around their small Connecticut town, the characters are unremarkable, and the title, of course, gives away the mystery, but, as with all of Cooney's novels, the joy is in readers being more clued in than the hapless characters. Thus every chapter, narrated alternately by each sibling, ends with a successful degree of suspense. Contemporary technology—texting, cell phone videos, digital photography, online bank accounts—plays a weighty role; initially the reliance upon them aids each character's unhealthy distance from one another, but by the conclusion, it has become the link between them, creating laughably miraculous resolutions at every turn. A Christian theme pervades as well, as the siblings each question their relationship with God as well as with one another, and inevitably resolve both issues simultaneously.
Wdebo's Review: I think the only Caroline B. Cooney book's I've read are The Face on the Milk Carton series. But I am just in love with them *heart*!
I set high expectations for this book, because I know that Caroline is a phenominal author, but I was disappointed that the book didn't reach my expectations. Don't get me wrong, this was a wonderful, book filled with thrillers (at the end, mostly). The beginning was boring and kind of confusing (Or maybe that was because I was distracted and in no mood to read...but that's beside the point :P ) I think she built up the setting too much, and should have dived into plot sooner.
When the action FINALLY started to happen, it was amazing, it was so great, it was can't-put-down-this-book-Until-I'm-Done awesome, but then...*boom* it was gone just like that. I expected the story to be longer then it was, seeing as how it took so long to get to the problems in the first place, but nope, the solution came faster then I ever believed it could come and then it ended. Sorta sad-making.
The characters were well developed, the most interesting person to read about was their "Aunt" and that was only because she was evil and you wanted to know what horrible things she would do next.
Um the cover seems to do this book no justice [I know the author doesn't pick the cover but the covers are the selling point of the book, and I have to comment on it] the yellow and the black are yucky and all in all, if I wasn't looking forward to reading this book, um, the cover would not sell me on reading it. (C+)
All in all, for die-hard Caroline B. Cooney fans you will love this story, others, um, it depends!
Grade: B+
Wdebo :)
Hate when that happens!
ReplyDeleteI've tagged you!
http://theclockmonkey2.blogspot.com/2009/07/whats-on-your-desk-wednesday.html
Haha I know!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much Ella!! :)
How can i get interested in this book i cant seem to and i have to read it for school :/
ReplyDeletei have to read this for school and it started off boring but then it got better
ReplyDeleteyeah it was a really good book and i have to do a book talk on it. D: i loved the book, but i hate the book talk D:{
ReplyDeleteIf the Witness Lied is a thriller through and through! I started the book on Friday afternoon and didn't put it down until I finished it on Friday night. What a thrilling read! At times, I felt like I was reading a newspaper article because it felt so realistic. Certain touches, like the introduction of a sleazy reality show producer, make this book stand out.
ReplyDeleteJack Fountain is the strong one. The one who stayed. After it happened, his sisters both fled their home- one to boarding school in Massachusetts and one to her godparent's house up the turnpike. Jack stayed with their baby brother, Tris, and "aunt" Cheryl. Jack doesn't blame his sisters- the media attention was hard enough, but having to live with Tris and act like nothing happened sometimes feel impossible. Tris,their baby brother, killed both his mother and father. He killed his mother by being born, and his father by hitting the parking brake in the car a year later. Of course, the media jumped all over the story and the Fountains were forced to forge new identities for themselves. Jack changed from the popular jock in school to the steady big brother, the babysitter and brother who can be counted on. Smithy and Madison ran from the pain.