Shortlisted for the Peters Book of the Year.
A shocking story of rebellion and revelation set in a contemporary Nazi England.
Jessika Keller is a good girl: she obeys her father, does her best to impress Herr Fisher at the Bund Deutscher Mädel meetings and is set to be a world champion ice skater. Her neighbour Clementine is not so submissive. Outspoken and radical, Clem is delectably dangerous and rebellious. And the regime has noticed. Jess cannot keep both her perfect life and her dearest friend. But which can she live without?
THE BIG LIE is a thought-provoking and beautifully told story that explores ideas of loyalty, sexuality and protest.
Publisher: Hot Key Books
ISBN: 9781471404702
Number of pages: 368
Weight: 296 g
Dimensions: 198 x 24 x 129 mm
A genius idea, executed flawlessly. - Red
This high concept novel is intriguing, engrossing, and frighteningly plausible. I think we're going to see The Big Lie shortlisted for a great number of awards next year. - Louise O'Neill, author of ONLY EVER YOURS
Brilliantly realised . . . this unputdownable book is also a powerful and moving exploration of friendship, family, sexuality and what it really means to be "good" - Irish Times
The Big Lie is a chilling, beautifully written, minutely observed 'what if' novel that messes with your head and stays with you long, long after you've turned the final page. - Sarra Manning
A very special book - James Dawson, author of THIS BOOK IS GAY
Brave, beautiful and devastating...Like all the best speculative fiction it echoes not only the past but what is happening NOW. Amazing. - Rae Earl, author of MY MAD FAT DIARY
One book that everybody will be talking about... a thought-provoking and chilling coming-of-age novel exploring loyalty, love and morals. - The Bookseller (Children's Previews)
Devastating, thought-provoking alternate history - Claire Allfree, Metro
The Big Lie is a powerful, uncompromising, uncomfortable, thought provoking, challenging and chilling read [...] frighteningly realistic - Tanja Jennings, School Library Association
A powerful coming-of-age story, The Big Lie deftly takes on the big guns of dystopia, including sexism, feminism, sexuality, loyalty, propaganda, freedom and protest. Make sure you get a copy on your bookshelf, stat. - Stylist Online
Mayhew manages two feats, both crucial: she creates a believable modern-day Nazi society built on rules, silence, and surveillance, and a compelling depiction of a girl caught between what she has always been taught and what she is coming to suspect is true. As Jessika discovers, the truth is both dangerous and liberating - Publishers Weekly
Readers who know their World War II history and enjoy extremely unreliable narrators will find great satisfaction in puzzling out the truth behind the horrors Jess leaves unspoken - Kirkus
Beyond its alternate history premise, the book deftly examines the ways in which gender roles and sexuality play out under a society that strictly delineates them. There are surprises for both Jess and the reader in the ending, making this a timely piece for teens to consider what pacifism and/or protest looks like and the costs each entail - Bulletin For The Center of Children's Books
This is a story that paints the dangers of totalitarianism in vivid language - The Conversation
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