''The Lie Tree'' is the seventh

children's A child ( : children) is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The legal definition of ''child'' generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person younger ...

fantasy novel Fantasy literature is literature set in an imaginary universe, often but not always without any locations, events, or people from the real world. Magic, the supernatural and magical creatures are common in many of these imaginary worlds. Fan ...

by Frances Hardinge, published in 2015 by

Macmillan Publishers Macmillan Publishers (occasionally known as the Macmillan Group; formally Macmillan Publishers Ltd and Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC) is a British publishing company traditionally considered to be one of the 'Big Five' English language publ ...

. The book won the 2015 Costa Book of the Year.

Synopsis

''The Lie Tree'' is set in the male-dominated

Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literature ...

scientific society, and tells the story of Faith Sunderly, a 14-year-old girl whose father is killed under mysterious circumstances after the family moves to a small island to get away from London. In her efforts to discover what happened to her father, and to follow his footsteps of studying natural science, she discovers a tree that provides truths by feeding on whispered lies. The lies and rumors that Faith starts grow rapidly and events soon become out of control.

Reception

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide ...

'' praised ''The Lie Tree'''s "convincing picture of the times" and Hardinge's "trademark wit and intelligence", calling the book "at once entertaining and provocative". ''

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, wh ...

'' named the book its children's book of the year for 2015. In the 2015

Costa Book Awards The Costa Book Awards were a set of annual literary awards recognising English-language books by writers based in UK and Ireland. Originally named the Whitbread Book Awards from 1971 to 2005 after its first sponsor, the Whitbread company, then ...

, ''The Lie Tree'' won both in the Children's Book Award category and the overall Book of the Year, an achievement only previously managed by

Philip Pullman Sir Philip Nicholas Outram Pullman (born 19 October 1946) is an English writer. His books include the fantasy trilogy '' His Dark Materials'' and ''The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ'', a fictionalised biography of Jesus. In 2008, ''Th ...

's '' The Amber Spyglass'' in 2001. The judges for the Children's Book Award "loved hedark, sprawling, fiercely clever novel", stating it would "grip readers of all ages", while the chair of the judges for the Book of the Year award described the book as a "real page turner", suitable for adults as much as for children.

References

External links

''The Lie Tree'' on Frances Hardinge's website

''The Lie Tree'' on Macmillan's website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lie Tree, The 2015 British novels British fantasy novels Children's fantasy novels Costa Book Award-winning works British children's novels 2015 children's books Novels set in Victorian England Macmillan Publishers books Novels set on islands