HOW WE LEARNED TO LIE by Meredith Miller
Joan has known Daisy’s brother was getting involved in something dark ever since the moment he came home covered in someone else’s blood. But when she tries to talk to Daisy about it, he brushes her off. Daisy knows his brother is somehow involved in the angel dust that has been making its way around the school, but how can he talk to Joan about it? She seems to have her own secrets these days, too. The biology teacher, for example. Secrets and lies push the friends further and further apart as violence and tragedy become familiar in their town.
A thread of mystery and suspense runs through this novel which is otherwise a character study and profile of a struggling community. The author paints a violent and corrupt world in the most beautiful poetic language (occasionally at the expense of clarity). I would recommend this novel to fans of literary historical or realistic fiction.
Susan the Librarian 