Friends and Other Liars: A Novel

by Kaela Coble

Overview

Sometimes the secrets we keep are more dangerous than the ones we reveal...

To all my old friends:

So here you all are. Nice to see you can show up for a person once he's dead.

When Ruby St. James returns to her hometown, it is to the grave of her old friend Danny, a member of a group that was, ten years ago, Ruby's whole world. The crew made a pact back then: stay together, stay loyal, and stay honest. But that was before all of the lies.

Because even friends keep secrets. They just don't stay secret for long.

Now Danny has left behind a letter for each of them, issuing one final ultimatum: share your darkest betrayal to the group, or risk it coming out in a trap he has created. When past mistakes resurface, the lines of friendship blurb, and four old friends are left trying to understand what it means to lie to the ones you love best.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781492651161
Publisher:	Sourcebooks
Publication date:	02/06/2018
Pages:	368
Sales rank:	892,476
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.10(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Kaela Coble lives in Burlington, Vermont, and is a member of the League of Vermont Writers. This is her first novel.

Editorial Reviews

04/02/2018
A group of five childhood friends are brought back together with explosive results in Coble’s riveting, assured debut. At a gathering after the funeral of Danny Deuso, who committed suicide, Danny’s mother gives each of his best friends a letter containing a secret unique to each, a betrayal of the pact of honesty that they made to each other. The letters threaten to reveal the secrets in another way if they don’t voluntarily share with one another. This is mainly Ruby’s story; she relates growing up with the crew, finding intense first love with Murphy, and the surprising secret she’s kept from him for a decade. Interspersed are sequences in Danny’s troubled voice, and Ally, Ruby’s closest friend, tells her story as well, offering a point of view from someone who stayed in tiny Chatwick, Vt., while Ruby left. Coble’s story adeptly addresses domestic violence, drug addiction, suicide, and the pain of young love. The revelations in the last half are genuinely surprising and satisfyingly devoid of pat solutions, but the real draw is the ensemble cast, which anchors this memorable novel. (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly

"Riveting, assured debut... the revelations in the last half are genuinely surprising and satisfyingly devoid of pat solutions, but the real draw is the ensemble cast, which anchors this memorable novel." — Publishers Weekly

"As a tale of one woman's complicated relationship with her past, Friends and Other Liars rings true. Readers more accustomed to stories of same-sex friend groups may find the internal dynamics of the "crew" especially compelling. " — Seven Days

"Loaded with dysfunctional families, dysfunctional personalities, psychodrama, death, and of course, the secrets." — MidwestBookReview.com

"A captivating story about the secrets we keep from those who think they know us best, FRIENDS AND OTHER LIARS is at turns chilling, suspenseful, and darkly humorous. Kaela Coble masterfully explores the hold the past has on our present and the twisted side of friendship, family, and first love. Kept me turning pages until the very last secret was revealed." — Haley Harrigan, author of Secrets of Southern Girls

"The relationships and how they are forever changed...will be of most interest to readers. " — School Library Journal

From the Publisher

05/01/2018
What does it mean to lie to the ones who love you best? Friends Emmett, Murphy, Ally, and Ruby have all carried the burden of a secret that they have withheld from the others. Angry and shattered, Danny dies by suicide. Before he does, he records his friends' secrets in letters to be read aloud at his wake. Reunited for the first time in 10 years for Danny's funeral, the friends must grapple with his death and the realization of his vindictiveness. His rule is simple: fess up to everyone in the crew or be outed by an accomplice. Faced with the horror of exposing their deepest secrets, one chooses to lie again, another decides to avoid it altogether, and two try to coexist, hoping an old spark won't ignite. Readers willingly journey with the quartet on this roller coaster of emotions as all are forced to confront their deepest fear. Although the secrets, when divulged, are a disappointment, it is the relationships and how they are forever changed that will be of most interest to readers. There are scenes of a sexual nature that are better suited for older teens. VERDICT An additional purchase where new adult titles are popular.—Michelle Foster, North Caroline High School, Ridgely, MD

School Library Journal