Genuine Fraud
by E. Lockhart
4 stars
Teen author E. Lockhart is known for her suspenseful twists, thrilling plots, and often unreliable narrators. I still get the feels when I think about her best-selling 2014 novel, We Were Liars. It was fast-paced, unpredictable, and heartbreaking. Her newest teen novel, Genuine Fraud, is most of these things. The novel starts out with an obviously unreliable narrator, Jule, lounging in a Mexican resort. Unobservant readers might not realize that the story starts out with Chapter 18 as the plot moves backwards in time. Step by step you discover more about Jule, her seemingly glamorous life, her perfect best friend, and the boy she regrets leaving behind.
I had a little trouble connecting with Jule. Her character was a little lacking, and I’m still left wondering about her motivation and upbringing. Because of this I didn’t feel the heartbreak and grief I experienced when reading We Were Liars. However, I was still captivated by the story, pulled along by Lockhart’s twists and turns, and of course blown away by the mystery’s big reveal. I totally didn’t see that coming!
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