What I loved about “LIAR” was the secret partnership between Micah and Zach. What about your partnership with Scott Westerfield, was it the same at the beginning?

Sometimes, it got me thinking that Micah is kind of a dark character. Was it your intention to describe her that dark? Why?

Micah often goes to parks and into the woods, so that it seems like she rather feels like home, there. Compared to the city it is another world, but they somehow match together in your novel. Did you involve your changes between staying in New York and staying in Sydney with it? What differs the most regarding the daily life in New York to the one in Sydney?

That Micah hates her brother so much is something, I hardly can imagine. Is it just because of Micah’s feeling of being guilty? Do you have children?

Right now, I’m on an exchange program with the USA. But where I’m staying is more community- especially in the school- than is described in “LIAR”. Is that because of New York is that big? What is your own experience of community in school?

The metaphors like the banana peel, the icicle and the puppy are used to better describe the actions. They are very impressive as well as the comparison of the jewelry and the fragrance is. How did you work that out?

At last, do you have any essential advices for the growing-ups and a favorite sentence that leads your life?

I’m so happy about having read your book. What I really found extra-ordinary and what pleased me the most was the jigsaw puzzle. I hope, I’ll get all my questions answered and for that- I’ll be pleased if you could do so.

Yours sincerely,

Marietheres

I wanted the book to work whether you decided Micah was insane or whether you believe she is a werewolf. Both readings are what I was going for. I’m also fascinated by the many other interpretations of the book. I think most of them are also true. That doesn’t help, does it?

Also, do you think Liar may be turned into a Film someday?

So far there’s been no interest so right now I’d say it seems unlikely. But who knows what will happen in the future?

Soph: I’m having trouble telling how Zach died. Its an awful question but I lost track towards the end of the book and I don’t remember how he died!

Micah claims that the police say he was torn apart by animals. She claims that it was werewolf Pete. But she also says she was interrogated by the police multiple times. There are also a fair few mention of knives.

That’s all I’m saying. Well, except that like many other things in the book—it’s up to you to decide.

I’m having trouble telling how Zach died. Its an awful question but I lost track towards the end of the book and I don’t remember how he died!

PLEASE, HELP ME. THIS QUESTION HAS HIJACKED MY CONSCIOUSNESS. I haven’t been able to read another book since Liar because I never knew the ending.

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE. For the love of reading; Help me!

Also, someone on the liar spoiler thread interpreted micah to have a mental dysfunction of sorts, and the greats on their farm to be nurses and doctors of a mental institute, with micah’s pill actually being medication that stops her dysfunction from acting up.

Were you thinking along these lines ( about micah having a mental dysfunction rather than actually being a werewolf) when you wrote liar or is Liar actually a fantasy book?

Also, do you think Liar may be turned into a Film someday?

Laura: I hope your assignmeant went well. Those are interesting ideas about the book. To be honest, I don’t really think about my own books in that way so I’m no use to people writing critically about my work.

Melody: Thank you! Yes, I have known many liars. In fact I used to be one, which I discuss here with John Green. I’ve never known anyone as compulsive a liar as Micah though.

I’m sorry there will be no sequel. Any sequel would either confirm or deny what happens in Liar and I wrote it to be open-ended. You’ll have to write your own.

Ying: Many thanks. The book was a huge challenge—to balance out the possible interpretations and still have a coherent book—but one I enjoyed enormously. So responses like yours are enormously satisfying. Thank you!

I found it really interesting and thought provoking. So much so that i am currently doing a major assessment on it. I was wondering if you had any ideas that would assist me. The topic is belonging and i have taken the stance that Micahs sense of belonging is confused due to her being “stuck somewhere in between… half black, half white; half boy, half girl, coasting on half a scholarship. I’m half of everything.” From this i deduced that even though Micah doesnt seem to really wish to lie to fit in, her lies cause her to be outcast further because other people dont like liars.

Any imput would be of great value to me.

Your questions are excellent but very difficult for me to give a quick answer to. I wrote Liar using specific novel-writing software, Scrivener. I’m working on a post for my blog talking about that in detail but it will be awhile before I finish it. But I’ll put a link to it here when I put it up.

Another interesting idea (and again, to me, troubling) is that Micah is “lying” when she attempts to express herself as a boy. Is someone’s gender identity a lie if it doesn’t match others’ perceptions of how that person “should” act or identify?

Then I just now started to think that maybe the “werewolf” concept is just one huge metaphor about gender identity shift, and that the “liar” concept is a commentary on how people view and judge those who don’t express an “acceptable” gender identity– for example, accusing transsexuals of “lying” or “attempting to fool” people. So when Micah tries to tell Yayeko who she is and is rebuffed with “it’s okay to be a girl,” what were seeing is the psychological violence/trauma that causes in Micah rather than literal violence. And then my head kind of hurts.

I know I might get a “can’t tell you! Decide for yourself!” answer. (And I kind of like my crazy new theory, so that’s okay.) I really would like to know if you had concerns about the conflation of sexual identity with violence in Micah, though.

-Read Liar in one 3.5 hour sitting

I think there are some other theories but I can’t remember them right now. You can find more theories about the book in general over at the spoiler thread.

Victoria: Thanks for the kind words! Did you buy it at Kinokuniya? I’m so pleased you were happy that I scribbled my signature on Liar. (I’m always faintly worried people will think I’ve vandalised their book.)

Yes, Liar is a book that’s very open to interpretation. Though I must say I hadn’t thought of that possibility. And I certainly wasn’t thinking of it when I was writing the book. I do think Micah is trying very hard to tell the truth and that there’s a lot of truth in the book.

I think the clue to Jordan’s existence or not is in the ways he is doubled by Peter. Or maybe Jordan is doubling Peter? Put this way, I’m pretty sure only one of the two exists.

Megan: I’ve seen people talking about Micah’s struggles without mentioning the wolf. Some have talked about werewolfism as “the family illness” which I think works quite well. It allows you to talk about whether the mysterious family illness is real or not without going into too many details.

Good luck with your report!

I’m really not sure how I would read the book if I hadn’t written it. I guess I’d hope that things worked out for Micah because I like her and worry about her. But I’d also be afraid that things weren’t so great as she says they are.