Seven Ways We Lie

by Riley Redgate

Overview

In Seven Ways We Lie, a chance encounter tangles the lives of seven high school students, each resisting the allure of one of the seven deadly sins, and each telling their story from their seven distinct points of view.

The juniors at Paloma High School all have their secrets, whether it’s the thespian who hides her trust issues onstage, the closeted pansexual who only cares about his drug-dealing profits, or the neurotic genius who’s planted the seed of a school scandal. But it’s Juniper Kipling who has the furthest to fall. No one would argue that Juniper—obedient daughter, salutatorian, natural beauty, and loyal friend—is anything but perfect. Everyone knows she’s a saint, not a sinner; but when love is involved, who is Juniper to resist temptation? When she begins to crave more and more of the one person she can’t have, her charmed life starts to unravel.

Then rumors of a student–teacher affair hit the fan. After Juniper accidentally exposes her secret at a party, her fate falls into the hands of the other six sinners, bringing them into one another’s orbits. All seven are guilty of something. Together, they could save one another from their temptations—or be ruined by them.

Riley Redgate’s twisty YA debut effortlessly weaves humor, heartbreak, and redemption into a drama that fans of Jenny Han and Stephanie Perkins will adore.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781419723483
Publisher:	Amulet Paperbacks
Publication date:	04/04/2017
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	368
Sales rank:	292,067
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.10(h) x 0.70(d)
Age Range:	13 - 18 Years

About the Author

Riley Redgate is a recent graduate of Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio, where she was an economics major. Seven Ways We Lie is her first novel. She currently lives and writes in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Visit the author at www.rileyredgate.com.

Editorial Reviews

02/15/2016
Debut author Redgate neatly captures the heart, soul, and social intricacies of a high school in a conservative Kansas City suburb. This story of seven teenagers, all high school juniors carrying significant emotional baggage tied to the seven deadly sins, revolves around the pitfalls of hiding one's true self and the redeeming power of friendship. The teens—whose difficulties include being abandoned by a negligent mother, addiction, and self-loathing—tell their stories in alternating first-person narratives. The seven stories and characters come together as the school reels from a rumor that a student is having an affair with a teacher. Redgate writes with much insight into the complicated world of contemporary high school, revealing both its hard edges (the taunts of jocks toward an eccentric outcast, vicious rumor mills) and its tender underbelly (the loyalty of friends, the pain of a broken first love, the excitement of new romance). By book's end, readers will feel like they have seven new friends. Ages 13–up Agent: Caryn Wiseman, Andrea Brown Literary Agency. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly

Engaging and raw and real...a realistic contemporary YA delight.

"The Best Books of 2016...So Far" Book Riot

02/01/2016
Gr 8 Up—The lives of seven high school students intertwine around a scandalous secret in this debut effort. Each character deals with an issue related to one of the seven deadly sins: wrath, greed, sloth, pride, lust, envy, and gluttony. Olivia has one-night stands that keep her from feeling anything real, Matt's a burnout with no real ambition, Lucas hides a struggle with his sexuality behind a big smile and brand names, Claire's arsenal of extracurriculars cover up her feelings of never being good enough, Valentine refuses to get too close to anyone, and Kat's anger at her mother's abandonment causes her to lash out at everyone. Finally, Juniper, the perfectly popular girl, falls in love with someone she can never have. When, by chance, their lives converge around Juniper's indiscretion, they learn that in order to save themselves, they have to help one another. Most of the characters' personal struggles are individually compelling, and most readers will find at least one person with whom they can identify. As a whole, however, the plot feels a bit overstuffed and certain stories are better fleshed out than others, such as Olivia/Matt vs. Valentine/Claire. Still, Redgate is right on trend with the type of story that's popular with teens at the moment, and her book is sure to find a fan base. VERDICT An additional purchase for large teen collections.—Kimberly Castle-Alberts, Hudson Library & Historical Society, OH

School Library Journal

2015-12-08
The lives of seven teens intersect in expected and unexpected ways in this multivoiced novel that plays with the seven deadly sins. Olivia. Kat. Matt. Juniper. Valentine. Claire. Lucas. All are students at Paloma High, where an allegation of a teacher-student relationship has just been revealed. Who is the teacher—and who is the student? That's only one of the secrets among these seven. Yet while the alleged relationship is ostensibly what brings them together, in fact that relationship is less important than the characters' existing problems. Olivia and Kat are still struggling to accept their mother's abandonment, Matt crushes on Olivia, Claire tries to overcome her jealousy of her friends Olivia and Juniper, Lucas is in the closet even though he used to date Claire, while Valentine doesn't have any interest in relationships, romantic or otherwise. Meanwhile, the least of Juniper's troubles is performing well at her violin recital. And when the truth comes out about the teacher-student relationship, these seven students will see how their relationships have changed. While the characters are each distinct—Lucas' pansexuality and Valentine's asexuality are welcome explorations rarely seen in teen lit—the novel lacks much direction or tension, and the seven-deadly-sins theme fails to take hold. Without a plot that can really drive the action, this debut novel feels like a collection of well-written character studies. Despite the intriguing premise, this novel's reach exceeds its grasp. (Fiction. 14-18)

Kirkus Reviews