| Title | : | The Safest Lies |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 0553537512 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780553537512 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Hardcover |
| Number of Pages | : | 357 |
| Publication | : | First published May 24, 2016 |
Kelsey has lived most of her life in a shadow of fear, raised to see danger everywhere. Her mother hasn’t set foot outside their front door in seventeen years, since she escaped from her kidnappers with nothing but her attacker’s baby growing inside her—Kelsey.
Kelsey knows she’s supposed to keep a low profile for their own protection, but that plan is shattered when she drives off a cliff and is rescued by volunteer firefighter and classmate Ryan Baker.
A few days later, she arrives home to face her greatest fear: her mother is missing. She and her mother have drilled for all contingencies—except this one. Luckily, Ryan is as skilled at emergency rescues as Kelsey is at escape and evasion.
To have a chance at a future, Kelsey will have to face all her darkest fears. Because someone is coming for her.
And the truth about the past may end up being the most dangerous thing of all.
The Safest Lies Reviews
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I absolutely loved the first third of the book - I got goosebumps multiple times reading it, and I had such high hopes for the rest of the book! Unfortunately, the rest was a let down. The book took a weird turn, and it wasn't quite what I was expected. It felt like it dragged on and on after about halfway through, and it seemed repetitive. The big "reveal" felt just "meh" to me. Overall, I wasn't a huge fan of this one.
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What a compulsive read!
Once again Megan Miranda presents us with a well written and highly entertaining story with a plucky, resourceful heroine who keeps her wits about her when trouble comes knocking on her secluded mountainside door. Kelsey and her mother cannot hide forever from the evil gang of men who are intent on exacting revenge.
I loved the budding romance between the lead Kelsey and Ryan. Friendship, loyalty and heroism - all boiled down into a fantastic read. Some of the dialogue was just priceless.
Megan Miranda is very high on my list of favourite authors. Intelligent, insightful, observant: all the elements of an excellent writer who can transport you into her fictional world and lose you there. Although this is shelved as a Young Adult book, this book will appeal to readers of all ages who love a good story with plenty of action and excellent character development. The Safest Lies is on my "Reread List" along with a few of Miranda's other books. Highly recommended: you will not be disappointed! -
Wow! Picked this one up today on impulse, and I couldn't put it down. Love when that happens!
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"A little lie. A white lie.
The safest lie."
Wow, what a great page turner! I read this all in one sitting with little distractions - which was perfect because it would have been hard to put down.
It's an interesting question this book asks - Fear - can it be inherited in your genes and DNA or is it only completely through environmental factors. If your parents are afraid, do you only pick up their fear through their actions - or do you adopt their fear of smell and/or feeling too?
Kelsey's world is ruled by fear. Not her own, that rarely touches her world, but her mother's. She knows to start looking for exits once she enters and room and to assess the dangers quickly. To know to run, hide, get away - at all cost, survive. And always make it back to the safety of home.
The twists and turns were wonderful to read through and I liked the side characters that were added to the fray when things were going down. They added the humor but also the sane element and left you wondering who was telling the truth - your narrator or others? I'm so glad I gave this one a try. -
Holy shit what a book! This was an intense mysterious thrill ride. Didn't know what was going to happen next. Didn't want to put it down.
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I don't read many YA suspense/thrillers, but after really liking
Soulprint I was excited to try The Safest Lies. I enjoyed it even better than I expected! For one, the romance is a-dor-a-ble, just full of swoons and with no unnecessary drama. Ryan has liked Kelsey for a while now, and it's sweet watching their shy interactions and him finally getting the nerve to tell her how he feels. But this is also a very intense, gripping read, a mixture between
Panic Room and
Room (if you've seen the movies/read the books). I was fascinated by the setup - Kelsey's mother was abducted and tortured years ago as a teenager, and after she escaped, pregnant and delirious, she literally made a new name for herself and Kelsey, built a fortress of a home and hasn't left its protective walls since. It's an interesting psychological study - the fears that have been passed down to Kelsey, whether through DNA or through learned behaviors - and it's also fraught with tension and suspense. I was on the edge of my seat for almost the entire middle section of the book! I couldn't wait to see how everything played out. Definitely recommended if you're in the mood for a YA thriller, a dash of romance, and a clever heroine who's finally ready for some answers. -
Story 4 stars**
Audio 3.75**
Narrator Amanda Dolan -
7.5 out of 10
First 2/3 were creepy, awesome, engaging. Miranda really knows how to create good suspense! But I'm not very satisfied with the ending and answers I got, still, I would recommend the story 'cause this little disappointment is only mine and others can consider it a nice twist. I'm also and again amazed by the unique plot the author came up with. Fresh ideas in YA are rare like unicorns in my city.
Reviews for other Miranda's books:
The Perfect Stranger (Идеальная незнакомка)
Fragments of the Lost (Фрагменты прошлого)
The Safest Lies (Опасная ложь)
Come Find Me (Найди меня, если сможешь)
All the Missing Girls (Все пропавшие девушки)
The Girl from Widow Hills (Девушка из Уидоу-Хиллз)
Such a Quiet Place (Такое тихое место) -
Want to see more bookish things from me? Check out my YouTube channel:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfer...
17 years ago, Kelsey's mother escaped her abductors, pregnant and scared. She has not set foot outside the house since, in fear that her captor will return. She has raised Kelsey to notice danger at every turn and to always be prepared. One night, on an act of rebellion, Kelsey sneaks out of the house, only to return to her mother missing. With the help of Ryan, a volunteer firefighter who just so happens to be in her math class, she must find her mother before anything happens to her.
The book initially started off very slowly, it took until Kelsey's mother to disappear before I became invested in the story. I also found it to be very predictable, but I'm not sure if that is just because I've read so many thrillers at this point. The writing was also repetitive at times, which drew me away from the story every time I noticed it. The characters were okay, nothing overly special.
Overall, just a very average read but it was definitely a quick read though, easy to fly through in one or two sittings. -
Oh, wow. This book was so, so good. It scared the hell out of me, and I just could not stop reading it. Loved everything about it. It's my first book by Megan Miranda, but it'll definitely not be my last.
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This was INTENSE! So much tension and suspense throughout, leading to an almost-cinematic end. I’m a big fan of Megan Miranda’s adult novels, but if this book is any indication, then her YA is just as good!
The characters are easy to root for, the writing is evocative and compelling, and the mystery is as complicated as it is thought-provoking.
The novel took a turn after the first act, one I wasn’t expecting but thoroughly enjoyed. Most thrillers become bogged down in their middles due to needless romance or become repetitive until the twist or reveal in the last hundred pages. However, the middle of this novel was my favorite part!
Fans of high-octane thrillers with a dash of mystery will love this book! And I agree with Kirkus: it’s positively movie-ready! -
1.5 stars
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This is a perfect book to read on a train. You won't even feel the hours passing. The story is compelling, if downright predictable (plot twist? Not really) and the pacing exquisite. The writing could do without numerous repetitions. But then again, it's not supposed to be a literary masterpiece; just a summer page turner. I recommend it strongly to all thriller fans out there, not only young girls. As long as you don't mind the mawkishness of the mandatory teen romance arc - you're in for a fun ride.
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My first read in 2019.
This book was a page turner and I liked it! The first two chapters made me thought that the book is about a typical young adult love story but it was not.
I could not put it down after start reading it yesterday. I was constantly trying to figure out what was actually happen to Kelsey’s mom.
The plot twists were good. This is the first book of Megan Miranda that I’ve read and it’ll definitely not the last book. -
This was highly suspenseful; however, it was definitely missing something. There were many twists to the central mystery but they didn't really seem to be used to full effect. I was compelled to finish the book because I just had to what was up with Kelsey's mom, but that was it. Kelsey's relationships with other characters were also underdeveloped.
Great concept that would have benefited from some deeper exploration of its characters. -
Where to even start? I read this book in about 24 hours. It was so wonderfully suspenseful, with incredibly high stakes (which I love)! It had all the components of a perfect crime/mystery and I enjoyed every moment of it?
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So fast paced, energetic & intense! I literally was squirming in my seat & couldn't turn the pages fast enough! Being classified as a YA took nothing away from this fascinating story!
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This was SO GOOD! I was on the edge of my seat every time I listened to it.
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This was a 3.5 star read for me. I enjoyed this more than I thought I would. Excited to write my review.
Full review can be found here:
https://agingerlyreview.wordpress.com...
I borrowed this from my library with the expectation of a chilling mystery type story. Sadly, I don’t feel this book truly delivered on those expectations.
Short recap: Kelsey Thomas has not had a normal upbringing. Her mother has not left the house in 17 years because she was kidnapped and held captive for a year. She is always fearful the guy that took her will find her again. She raised Kelsey to always be aware and taught her survival skills. This all comes into play when Kelsey arrives home one day to find her house, what should be a fortress, unlocked and empty. Where did her mom go?
Kelsey as a character was not terrible. I don’t feel I really connected with her because I didn’t understand what she was going through. She was so terrified of everyone and everything because her mom raised her to be that way. The thing that stood out to me the most about this story – and honestly made it the most unbelievable part of it – was that Kelsey’s mom raised her to be absolutely paranoid. Trust no one. Always know your exits. Have something on you that you can use to defend yourself. Yet nobody around this girl thought it was weird that she jumped at the smallest sound, never invited anyone over, and always thought someone was after her? Even I would have reconsidered being this girl’s friend after a while. I cannot talk a lot about her as a character or development but she was not awful. She was just… okay. She was very forgettable, actually. Nothing about her stood out to me.
The author wanted me to believe that after living off of the radar for 17 years, the people that kidnapped Kelsey’s mom magically found her finally? Well… not magically. See, Kelsey got into a car wreck and the local paper reported it AND THEN MAGICALLY the bad guys found her. (PSST, that’s not magic, that’s just a Google search.) What unfolds after that is just… well… something. The bad guys found where Kelsey and her mom lived, somehow make it into this FORTRESS of a house to kidnap her mom, and Kelsey has to fight these bad men off. Are you still with me? Even I’m losing my train of thought because reviewing this is harder than I thought it would be. I liked it but at the same time I disliked it more. I just cannot wrap my mind around how a seventeen year old girl, along with the dreamiest boy in school, were able to survive and fight off these bad guys. You have got to be kidding me. I just don’t buy it. If this was a version of Taken then I might be more agreeable but in this particular setting, nope. Or if Kelsey was another version of Katniss Everdeen then yes, I would totally be on board. But this? All of the nopes.
The ending of this book felt rushed and over the top unrealistic. I wanted to like this so much more than I did. I didn’t agree with what her mom did, I didn’t agree with the super rushed romance between Kelsey and Ryan (the super dreamy high school boy that all of a sudden shows an interest in her), I didn’t agree with the ultimate reason behind the paranoia. This was a quick read so there is that silver lining… Part of me wants to recommend to others in the hopes that it is me that is broken and did not connect with this story. If you do read it, come back and let me know your thoughts. -
اگرچه کاور جذابی داره، ولی اونطور که انتظار داشتم، نبود. دو سوم اول کتاب جالب بود ولی بخش آخرش اصلا خوب از آب درنیومده بود. کِلسِی توماس 17 ساله هیچ وقت اجازه نمیداد کسی بهش نزدیک بشه. مادرش به خاطر اینکه در کودکی گروگان گرفته شده بود و مورد سو استفاده قرار گرفته بود، طی 17 سال گذشته خونه رو ترک نکرده بود. بعد از اینکه کلسی تصادف کرد و نزدیک بود بمیره، خانواده ش زیر نظر اخبار قرار میگیرن و کلسی حقیقت خانواده ش رو میفهمه.
اتفاقات از اینجا به بعد خیلی سریع و کمی غیر منطقی رخ میدن و عجیبن. البته اثر خوبیه ولی جنایتکارانش کمی عجیب رفتار میکنن، و اصلا در حد یه جنایتکار با اون همه سابقه نیستن. در آخر، نثر ساده ای داشت و تقریبا سریع جلو میرفت. -
I really didn’t like this. I will blame myself, though, because I didn’t realize this was a YA thriller until I started reading. Right away I was like “oh...this is going to be cheesy.” The mystery was not interesting. It had the potential to be, but it just wasn’t. Some parts dragged on SOOO long, I found myself scanning the pages just to get through it.
Sometimes I love cheesy things, truly. But this just didn’t do it for me 😂
The romance was so unnecessary, but I know that’s typical for a YA thriller. -
Compulsively readable and blindingly fast, I tore through The Safest Lies in an afternoon. While I could easily guess at some of the major twists, I was able to suspend my disbelief and enjoy the ride. I could totally see this one working as a movie or a beach read - it's definitely action-packed and intriguing!
For the full review and more, head over to
The Pretty Good Gatsby! -
Exhilarating thriller with some serious summer read appeal! Reminiscent of Panic Room, plus major appeal for fans of Emma Donoghue's Room.
Wild twist that I didn't see coming and a really adorable romance to top it all off!
TEEN THRILLERS AND MYSTERIES CONTINUE TO BE BETTER THAN THEIR ADULT COUNTERPARTS!!! -
2.5 RTC
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not great! but I need audiobooks and this was free so onward.
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I've enjoyed Megan Miranda's books before, especially Soulprint, so was excited to read this. I really like the way Miranda weaves scientific and psychological theory into her stories.
The book's main character, Kelsey, has always grown up with fear - her mom was abducted as a teenager and then was found, four months pregnant. Now she and Kelsey live in a fortified house with a panic room. Kelsey's mom is afraid to leave the house, and she manages this, until Kelsey is involved in an accident that sends her to the hospital.
I liked the suspense of The Safest Lies and the way it kept me guessing. I had some theories about what was actually going on with Kelsey and her mom, and I wasn't right.
The story poses the question as to whether fear can be inherited - an interesting idea, given Kelsey's history. I kept thinking this idea was going to be used to make the reader wonder if Kelsey is rational or just having a huge irrational panic attack. But that didn't feel like the case to me - I felt that Kelsey was a pretty levelheaded character.
My main issue with the book was that, while there was a lot of action and suspense, what was going on didn't always make sense to me. I wanted all the dots to be connected by the end, and some of them weren't (for me at least.)
The romance in this was promising, but didn't really come together for me. I liked Ryan until this big revelation toward the end that to me was kind of disturbing.
Even though this was a bit of a miss for me, I'm still a fan of this author. I bought her adult book and look forward to trying that!
Read more of my reviews on
YA Romantics or follow me on
Bloglovin -
So so so good! Pulled an all-nighter and finished in one sitting! Really loved this one! Pretty predictable but great read all the same!
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The Safest Lies
Although Kelsey goes to high school and has a part-time job, she knows her life is the farthest thing from normal. She lives in a gated fortress that her mom hasn’t left since Kelsey’s birth. Apparently, Kelsey’s mom is afraid the bad people who kidnapped her so many years ago are still searching for her, so she trains Kelsey in survival techniques including bomb-making. Kelsey’s mom has only one friend, her therapist, who studies Kelsey and her mom to gain data on whether fear can be inherited.
My favorite part of this book is the beginning when, after swerving off the road to avoid another vehicle, Kelsey and her car are dangling over a cliff. Ryan, the guy from her trigonometry class, tries to calm her from the backseat. This worries her because he wasn’t in the car earlier. He explains. He’s a volunteer firefighter and he repelled into her car to save her from plummeting to her death. This also worries her because he’s likely flunking math and her rescue would be a practical application of the very subject he struggles to comprehend. I’m not going to tell you what happens but this whole scene sets the bad guys on Kelsey’s trail. Soon they attack the fortress, and Kelsey’s mom disappears, leaving Kelsey and Ryan to fight off or evade the villains while piecing together what happened to Kelsey’s mom.
I loved All the Missing Girls and this tale is similar in that the characters must unravel the what happened in the past to save themselves and those they love in the present. Lots of danger and action occur as the characters put clues together.
My least favorite part of this story was the end as parts of the wrap up disappointed me. Still, I enjoyed the action and intrigue at the heart of the story and would recommend The Safest Lies to readers, who like carefully planned mysteries and page-turning suspense. -
“You’re not paranoid if they’re really after you.”
This was a well-written YA thriller. The first third was a bit slow, but when it picked up I couldn’t stop reading.
“People were taken, hidden, hurt. Danger was everywhere.
And here I was, standing before her, living proof.”
Kelsey’s mom was kidnapped as a teen and impregnated with Kelsey. The mom escapes and 17 years later, Kelsey and her mom are living together in a fortress-like house when Kelsey’s mom goes missing. Kelsey works with her friends to help figure it all out.
I really liked the characters and their relationships.
I was engaged and curious throughout, and found the ending to be satisfying.
I’ll definitely pick up more of Megan Miranda’s books in the future.
