Turn Off your Logic Sensors!

Title:  Trust Me I'm Lying
Author: Mary Elizabeth Summer
Publisher:  Delacorte Press

*Review Copy Provided by Amazon Vine Review Program


This is one of those books that just kills me when it comes to reviewing - primarily because it's so much fun, but so freaking illogical I just want to scream.

Let's start with the fun:

Julep is a grifter - a con artist. She comes by it honestly, as her father is one of the best grifters out there. And Julep just might be better. She's known as the Fixer at the posh private school she attends - the girl who can make anything happen. And she's enjoying herself, running her cons, until her father disappears - and Julep is the only person who can find him.

Sounds fun, doesn't it? And it is.

Julep is smart, funny, and a bit snarky. And the other characters are great as well. Sam, Julep's sidekick who harbors a sweet secret. Murphy, the school nerd with a crush on one of the most popular girls in school. Tyler, probably the most handsome boy in school who seems to be extremely interested in Julep all of a sudden. A butt kicking female who just may be some sort of assassin. The sweet bookie who cares about Julep and her dad.

The book moves like crazy, from one wild situation to the next and will leave you gasping, laughing, and even sorrowful in parts.

But then, comes logic:

Julep's cons make no logical sense whatsoever. The ten year old girl who dresses like a little person and goes to a bar for a drink? The free coffee for eternity con? The whole Murphy thing which seemed so very complex. And then there's the college con. Let me tell you, if my kid was applying for college and then I'm told that instead of writing a tuition check to the college, I'm to make the check out in the name of the person who interviewed her, I'm calling both the college and the police immediately.

More disconcerting is that for a con artist, perhaps the best teen con artist in the world, Julep doesn't read people very well. Reading people, your marks and otherwise, is the most important part of the con. And Julep can't read a soul. The con artist gets conned too much in this book.

And finally, if you were the premier teen con artist out there, would you tell everyone you know that you're a con artist? I don't think you would last long if you did.

Don't get me wrong, the book is fun. I read it quickly and enjoyed it. You just need to turn your brain off before you read!