The Lie Tree by Frances Hardinge (Book Review Sample)

The Lie Tree
Name
Institutional Affiliation
Professor
Date
The lie tree is a children's book that was published by Frances Hardinge in 2015. The novel is set in a patriarchal background of the Victorian Era in Great Britain. The book follows a young teenager, Faith Sunderly whose father dies strangely after the family relocates from Kent to Vane, a remote island. This makes her want to learn more about her father's death and the cause and about natural sciences which she was passionate about. Sooner, she learns that her family moving out was abrupt since they were escaping a scandal that would arise due to the scientific findings. While in the move, Sunderly was able to find a magical tree that consumed people's lies and had them converted into truths to resolve family reputations and fortune. Sunderly is motivativated to find out why they suddenly moved out shows her dedication and knowledge to find solutions. The book's theme begins here by addressing that one shouldn't be defined by society.
I loved The Lie Tree it is a perfect mix of fantasy and action which makes it not only a children's and youth gothic book but could be read by anyone. Faith is a strong female character who is used in representing girls' and women's role in society in doing their best for their families. Despite Faith's father discouraging her that women cannot be as brave as men nor can they be skilled or clever as men. Faith is clever and devoted and desires to follow in her father's footsteps and study science. Faith is the child protagonist and is expected to feel not respected and supported by her father, but she chooses to be strong and clever (Austin,2022). Faith chooses to understand her male-dominated society and works harder to achieve her dreams.
However, the Lie Tree becomes a tool for faith to express her impulses. Her use of the tree has made her resent her past fourteen years when she was weak and stupid. Hardinge then riffs on several themes such as nature, evolution, nurture, and the place of women in society using the young girl who is the protagonist in the darkly entertaining story (Gilbert,2019). I also feel that Hardinge plays a big role in creating a convincing picture of the lie tree and uses the protagonist to feel secure about it that she is guaranteed learning. Faith delights in the spreading of lies about his father in the village. Hardinge's writing style continues to amaze me and has exceeded my expectations, the story keeps the readers employed throughout the whole time with the child protagonist who shows her different skills from that of children in fighting for her rights. Faith constantly reminds readers that the gothic content of the death of her father might have inflicted feelings but she fights when people in the village speculate about the same. For example, she terrorizes a young servant girl who suggested to Erasmus that he had committed suicide. Faith feels her father was killed mysteriously. She also blackmailed a village boy into assisting with the mystery of the murder.
The morality of faith’s actions is seen to be ambiguous she causes more harm to her community, but in doing so she also gets a chance to understand the world. As a result, she was then able to mold her conceptions about herself and hence gained exposure to the world. Faith's freedom, on the other hand, is more self-determined and handles her darker parts of life more soundly. However, I feel that the child protagonist is shown to be wiser, Frances Hardinge uses her to show the reciprocation of life. Children are always known to be weak and cannot represent themselves (Douglas,2019). This is because they are entitled to their families and often feel they must be protected. Faith's ultimate goal given her condition as a child is expected to understand the confusing world. Faith is expected to have fallen respect of her father and her entire village but she seems to outweigh all their wit.
The child protagonist indeed lives a double life which is some way she feels reliable and trustworthy. She is a proper young lady who knows her position and has perfected it. However, at times, she might feel that inside she is curious and cannot resist the mysteries she is undergoing. This remains as an unattended envelope; she seems to know secrets but cannot be unveiled all of them. In an event Faith, was able to figure out her father’s killer, but she too almost got killed. The lie tree had become common and people were willing to kill. Faith as a child is expected to be remorseful of