(I got this book for free from LibraryThing's Early Reviewers program in exchange for this review.)

This book isn't as good as I hoped it would be. The protagonist had an authentic early-teen voice and sensibilities, and her family sounds like it could have been a real family, but I wish there had been more about the mid-1940s Canadian setting. I actually tended to forget the era in which it was taking place. There's also a LOT going on in this book, probably too much: Rachel's brother Jamie comes home from World War II with PTSD and, it turns out, leukemia (which was usually fatal in those days), their mother is expecting a baby, Rachel dreams of an acting career but comes to realize she doesn't have the talent for it, she's dealing with a super-creepy teacher at school who has "pedophile" written all over him, etc etc etc. That said, I think the book is worth a read, and might be of particular interest to YAs struggling with illness in their families. ( )

Little Red Lies started out ok for me. I was interested in the characters and wanted to know more about them. I am interested in the time period that this novel takes place, but some things just didn't seem right to me. Some of the language didn't seem true to the time period to me. As I continued into the book, I became annoyed with the character of Rachel. I could appreciate that she was at a difficult time in her life, but could find little to redeem her character in my eyes. I wanted to like this book, but it just got harder to read as I went on and I had to resort to skimming to get through it. I appreciate the opportunity I had through Library Thing Early Reviewers to read this book, but I would have a hard time recommending it. ( )

I could not be more disappointed with a book. I chose this book for the intriguing summary and cover, but I could not have chosen worse. This post WWII book has several elements that could be intriguing, but so many things prevent this from being a good book.

Firstly, there are way too many problems. I understand that this is a 'coming of age' book, but the number of problems should be reasonable. Rachel, the main character, is a teenager going about her normal life. It's post WWII and her beloved brother Jamie has come home. While not drastically injured, he has PTSD and after a while an illness which turns out to be Leukemia. After Rachel's teacher retires, she gets a new teacher who flirts with the girls and seems like a pedophile. Rachel loves her teacher, 'Tommy', as she calls him and spends almost the entire book dreaming about their pretend relationship. Rachel also convinces herself one of her friend's mothers is a killer. Throw in a new baby in her home that everyone seems to hate and beloved missing neighbor and you have way to many plots to not only keep track of but find a way to resolve. At the end, they never are really resolved.

One aspect of the book that is interesting - and extremely frustrating at the same time - is the interspersed letters Rachel's brother Jamie writes to Rachel. While Rachel is the narrator of the book, there are frequent breaks, one or more per chapter, from Jamie's perspective. It seems to be like he writes the diary to Rachel, and I'm not sure if he intends to give it to Rachel at some point, or it's just easier for Jamie to get mental relief by conjuring up the person his sister used to be and write these mythical letters to her. I think part of the problem is the font the letters are written in. The font is quite feminine, so you have to make a point in your head of reminding yourself that these letters are not from Rachel the narrator's point of view, but from her brother Jamie's. It would greatly aid the flow if the font was in a more masculine font or maybe typewriter font to fit in with the time period.

The character of Rachel is also quite an unsympathetic character. Selfish and self-centered, there was very little to recommend her. Constantly thinking only of herself when she had a ill brother with cancer and PTSD, friends who had difficult home lives, parents with problems, and a new baby brother, she acted horribly to them all and never seemed to feel remorse. So eager to grow up, she didn't even seem human to me. No love for babies, ignorant of boundaries, inventing horrible stories about her friends, no empathy for her parents, full of herself, etc. Aside from her eczema, I found nothing to recommend her. Rachel was incredibly cruel in her thoughts and actions. A particular passage that comes to mind is during Christmas. Rachel wants to get her pregnant mother a diet book for her 'middle age paunch'. First of all, she's heartless. Secondly, after the depression and WWII, the thought that anyone would be so heartless and unaware of real issues is disgusting. Thirdly, it was not called 'paunch' on women during that time.

I was quite disturbed by the unnecessary vulgarity, particularly with the repeated discussions of 'the clap'. While it was a concern at the time, I highly doubt middle class teens would know so much about it. Even if they want to mention it once, the fact that it was repeatedly used as a plot element was unnecessary. It's almost like the author felt that because it was a teen book, she had to mention STD's. Another vulgar, inappropriate and unnecessary plot point.

One of the things that bothered me the most was the anit-Catholic views in the book. This was most evident in the horrible way they spoke of Jamie's girlfriend Mary. Frankly, it was bigotry and a completely unnecessary addition to the book. The author could have still had the plot points about Jamie being unable to marry because of no job (which the author did) and how they grew apart without taking the opportunity to Catholic bash. I know this was and still is a view of many, I found it disturbing and not adding to the plot at all. This sort of thing would never be mentioned in a book review and illustrates why I have to read every book I purchase for my school.

While this book was written in a readable way, it had too many plot points, contained some time period inappropriate elements, and seemed bigoted at times, I suppose it's unfortunately what passes for teen books today. If the author could have deleted some of the plot elements, been completely authentic with historical elements, and done without the anti-Catholic elements, this could have made a much better book. So disappointing that in it's current state it was nominated for so many awards. This speaks to the inherit poor expectations of teen books. ( )

This is a really great written coming-of-age YA novel. Although it is set post-WWII, the plot and situations of the characters are in many ways still relevant today and very relatable. His illness aside, many of the emotional aspects of Jaimie's readjustment to civilian life are not unlike those faced by vets coming home from the Middle East today. ( )

Canadian writer, Julie Johnston, gives us a story about the effect of a distant war on a typical family. 13-year old Rachel's brother Jamie, returns from war withdrawn and unwilling to speak about his experiences. The family tries all they can to make things return to 'normal' but it is difficult. Rachel flirts with danger, literally, when a handsome substitute teacher tries to help her.

The title refers to the color of a bright red lipstick that she tries to wear but her mother takes it away from her. It represents her trying to grow up too fast. To further complicate matters, Jamie comes down with a devastating disease that ignorant neighbors assume is 'the clap' brought back from France.

There is a lot of tension in this book as the characters struggle to deal with changes and events that are beyond their control. We only see the surface of this tension through Rachel's eyes but know that the other characters are experiencing their own hells in their own ways. Rachel is a typical teenager in that she is as much concerned with how all these events will affect her but she does care deeply for her brother and feels helpless.

That she turns to a potentially dangerous source of comfort is a typical teenage mistake. A young substitute teacher, hired at the last minute, draws the attention of many of her classmates but her obvious vulnerability makes her a target for his attention.

This was a book small in stature but large in heart. ( )