THE LIES WE TELL OURSELVES

In Pierlot’s YA novel, a teen spends her school year racked with worries over her home life, her body image, and the new guy in class.

Harley Hastings hopes this will be “The Year of Harley” at her school in Australia. But things aren’t looking good from the first day of Year 10; her best friend, Talia, who’s been gone all summer, seems intent on cozying up to the popular mean girl Eden. Likewise, Harley notices her close male friend, Griff, growing inexplicably distant. There’s a glimmer of hope, though, when an American student transfers to her high school. Handsome Colt Carter catches many an eye, but does the fact that he’s extra nice to Harley mean he likes her? As the year progresses, Harley fixates on a potential romance with Carter, as well as her anxiety over body issues. Convinced she needs to lose weight, Harley contemplates and tries several approaches, some of which aren’t healthy. Meanwhile, her father is constantly away on business, which may be the reason for her parents’ incessant arguments. Pierlot masterfully delivers a teenager’s narrative voice. Harley is sympathetic (she lost her beloved grandmother just before the school year begins) and endures fellow students, including Eden, mocking her. Her first-person account is so emotionally rich that her hang-ups and mistakes (even when she hurts someone) are understandable. (Carter doesn’t openly flirt with Harley, but he’s just warm enough to make readers understand why she’s hooked.) The character is subtly nuanced—Harley excels at reading situations, such as Talia’s attempts to get a boy’s attention (“I’ve seen this show before and have no interest in re-runs”), but she isn’t quite as good at reading people. Watching her spiral and pick herself back up, only to fall again, is a heart-wrenching journey that’s worth taking.

An insightful story showing that adolescence can be an enlightening but painful ride.