‘She’s the Liar’ by Alison Cherry is about sisters Abby and Sydney and their time together at Brookside Academy. Abby, who has decided to rebrand herself as ‘Abbi’ and be a newer, cooler version of herself upon entering sixth grade, comes to learn that with her newfound role comes heartache. Eighth grader and big sister Sydney is not making Abbi’s life easy. Not only is Sydney the head of The Committee (which basically makes her the student body president, or Brookside’s version of it), she has the power to make decisions that govern everyone, and make Abbi terribly upset with the outcomes. When Abbi dares to stand up to her sister, Sydney is taken aback and decides to deal with the issue the only way she knows how – shutting Abbi down, just as she shuts down everyone else with what seems to be her power-hungry decisions.
The first half of the book tells Abbi’s side of the story. It shows how she deals with her sister’s power plays, and how she tries to take matters into her own hands and bring the student body around to support her instead of her sister. The second half of the book tells Sydney’s side of it. Alison Cherry does an amazing job of this, as readers will likely not see how anything Sydney can show of herself in the second half can make her actions okay. But Sydney does indeed have her own side for readers to learn about, and what it is comes across more surprising than one might expect. Her power-hungry actions and their consequences are more than just that, but she needs to make Abbi see this. The trouble is that Abbi has taken it upon herself to fight to join The Committee and make change, including undermining her sister. Figuring out how to thwart Abbi’s attempts before Abbi finds out the truth about Sydney is all Sydney can think to do, but the truth may come out anyway.
An intriguing look at how perspectives can truly shape the way one sees others and also themselves, ‘She’s the Liar’ is a quick and entertaining read that will make readers think long and hard about their own actions. Definitely recommended!
You can find ‘She’s the Liar’ by Alison Cherry here.
*Review originally posted at YABooksCentral.com*