About Seven Ways We Lie Book by Riley Redgate – A YA Novel About Secrets, Identity, Friendship, and a School Scandal
Seven Ways We Lie Book by Riley Redgate follows seven students at Paloma High School whose lives become connected by a growing school scandal. Each student has something private they do not want other people to know, and the novel moves between all seven points of view to show how quickly rumours, assumptions, jealousy, fear, and attraction can change the way people see one another.
The seven narrators are Olivia, Kat, Matt, Juniper, Valentine, Claire, and Lucas. Their personalities are very different, and Riley Redgate loosely connects each of them with one of the seven deadly sins. The idea gives the book a clear structure, but the characters are not reduced to one label. Each person has family problems, friendships, romantic feelings, insecurities, and choices that make the story more complicated.
At the centre of the plot is a rumour about a teacher and a student. As the truth moves closer to the surface, the seven teenagers become involved in one another’s secrets and have to decide what honesty, loyalty, and responsibility mean.
Seven Different Voices Tell One Connected Story
The novel is told through seven narrators rather than one main character. This lets readers see the same school from several very different angles.
Olivia is confident and socially active. Kat is sharp, private, and involved in theatre. Matt is quiet and spends much of his time getting high while his family life changes around him. Juniper appears almost perfect to the people who know her. Valentine is highly intelligent, socially awkward, and often more comfortable with facts than feelings. Claire is organised and ambitious but struggles with jealousy. Lucas is charming, secretive, and involved in dealing drugs while also hiding parts of his identity.
The Seven Deadly Sins Give the Book Its Framework
Seven Ways We Lie plays with the traditional seven deadly sins: lust, envy, greed, sloth, gluttony, wrath, and pride.
The publisher describes each of the seven students as resisting the pull of one of these sins. Readers can try to work out which character fits which idea as the story develops.
The connection is not always simple. A teenager may act out of anger in one scene and insecurity in another. Someone who looks confident may be hiding fear. Someone who seems selfish may also be trying to protect another person.
Olivia Is Often Judged Before People Know Her
Olivia Scott is outgoing, confident, and open about dating.
Other students often judge her because of that reputation. When the teacher-student scandal begins circulating, people quickly make assumptions about Olivia even without evidence.
Olivia is also dealing with family problems. She and her sister Kat are still affected by their mother leaving, and Olivia often tries to look after Kat even when Kat does not want that kind of attention.
Kat Uses Anger to Protect Herself
Kat Scott is Olivia’s sister and is deeply involved in theatre.
She is talented onstage but much harder to approach in daily life. Kat has strong trust issues and often responds to people with anger or sarcasm.
Her mother’s absence has affected her, and she does not like feeling watched, managed, or emotionally exposed.
Theatre gives Kat a place where she can control what she shows to other people. Onstage, she knows the lines and understands the role. Real life is less predictable.
Matt Is Quiet but Notices More Than People Expect
Matt Jackson spends much of the novel appearing detached.
He uses marijuana, avoids dealing directly with some of his problems, and has a strong crush on Olivia.
At home, his parents’ marriage is falling apart. He also cares about his younger brother and has more responsibility and awareness than his school image suggests.
Matt’s chapters show how easy it is for people to mistake passivity for simplicity.
He may look as though he does not care, but he notices the behaviour of people around him and becomes involved in choices that affect several other characters.
Juniper Appears to Have Everything Under Control
Juniper Kipling is one of the highest-achieving students at Paloma High.
She is a salutatorian, talented musician, loyal friend, and the kind of student adults are likely to trust.
That public image makes her secret especially important.
Juniper is involved in the teacher-student relationship at the centre of the scandal. She knows that the relationship could damage her school life, friendships, family relationships, and the teacher’s career.
Her chapters are written in verse, which separates her voice from the other narrators.
Valentine Starts the Scandal Without Knowing the Whole Story
Valentine Simmons is highly intelligent and socially unusual.
He overhears information suggesting that a teacher is involved with a student and reports what he knows without understanding who the student is.
That action helps start the school investigation.
Valentine tends to analyse people logically and can miss emotional details that seem obvious to others. He is also asexual, which gives the book representation that was less common in mainstream young adult fiction when the novel was published.
Claire Struggles With Jealousy and Control
Claire Lombardi is friends with Olivia and Juniper.
She is organised, focused, and used to trying to do things correctly. At the same time, she has strong feelings about her friends and can become jealous when she believes they have something she does not.
Her past relationship with Lucas also remains emotionally important.
Claire’s chapters show how jealousy can affect friendship even when the person feeling it knows that the reaction is unfair.
She wants control over her life and relationships, but the school scandal creates a situation where almost nobody has complete information.
Her need for certainty becomes harder to maintain as more secrets are revealed.
Lucas Hides Important Parts of His Life
Lucas McCallum is Claire’s ex-boyfriend and the captain of the swim team.
He is also involved in selling alcohol and drugs to other students.
Lucas appears confident and social, but he is hiding his pansexuality and worries about how other students will react if they learn about it.
Lucas is useful in a novel about secrets because he has built a public identity that does not include everything important about him.
The Teacher-Student Relationship Is Treated as a Serious Problem
The central scandal involves a student and a teacher.
Although Juniper experiences the relationship as emotionally important, the book makes clear that there is a major imbalance in age, authority, and responsibility.
The teacher is an adult with professional obligations, while Juniper is a student.
Readers should know that this plotline includes an inappropriate teacher-student relationship and the emotional confusion that comes with it.
The novel does not make the entire story about the affair. Instead, the scandal acts as the event that pushes the seven narrators into closer contact and forces several other secrets into the open.
Friendship Matters as Much as Romance
Seven Ways We Lie includes several romantic and sexual storylines, but friendship is equally important.
Olivia, Juniper, and Claire have to decide how much honesty their friendship can survive. Olivia and Kat have to work through the tension in their relationship as sisters. Matt, Lucas, Valentine, and the others are pulled into situations where protecting one person may mean lying to someone else.
Sometimes silence protects a friend. In other situations, silence can allow harm to continue.
That makes the relationships more complicated than a simple high school romance.
The Book Includes LGBTQ+ Representation
Lucas is pansexual, and Valentine is asexual.
These identities are part of their characters but do not become the only subjects of their chapters.
Lucas deals with the fear of being outed and the social consequences he expects at school. Valentine’s asexuality helps explain why he responds differently to romance and attraction than some of the other narrators.
The book was noted by reviewers for including forms of LGBTQ+ representation that were still relatively uncommon in young adult fiction in 2016.
Readers looking for diverse contemporary YA may appreciate that aspect of the novel.
The Tone Mixes Serious Problems With Humour
The story includes family breakdown, drug use, bullying, secrecy, inappropriate relationships, jealousy, and questions about sexuality.
Even with these subjects, the book is not written in a constantly heavy tone.
Redgate uses humour, awkward conversations, school drama, and the very different personalities of the narrators to keep the story readable.
The seven viewpoints also prevent the book from staying in one emotional mood for too long.
One chapter may be tense, another funny, and another more reflective.
Publication and Edition Details
Seven Ways We Lie was Riley Redgate’s debut novel.
Amulet Books, an imprint of Abrams, first published the book on March 8, 2016. The original hardcover is listed at 352 pages with ISBN 9781419719448.
Abrams later published a paperback edition on April 4, 2017. That edition is listed at 368 pages with ISBN 9781419723483.
The publisher recommends the book for readers aged thirteen and above.
Page count can therefore vary depending on format and edition, so customers who need a specific ISBN or cover should check the exact copy before ordering.
Who Will Enjoy Seven Ways We Lie?
The book is a good choice for readers who enjoy contemporary young adult fiction, multiple narrators, school drama, secrets, friendship, romance, LGBTQ+ representation, and character-driven stories.
It may also appeal to readers who like trying to work out how seven different characters connect with the seven deadly sins.
The novel contains drug use, alcohol, sexual situations, bullying, family conflict, outing, and a teacher-student relationship.
Because of these themes, it is more suitable for teen and older readers than younger children.
Book Quality at Bookish Wonderland
Bookish Wonderland offers this title with premium eye-soothing cream paper, crystal-clear printing, and high-quality stitched plus glue binding.
The cream paper provides a softer page tone for comfortable reading. Clear printing helps readers follow the seven narrators and changing chapter voices, while the stronger binding supports regular reading and shelf storage.
The copy is suitable for personal reading, gifting, book clubs, or adding to a contemporary YA collection.
Why Order from Bookish Wonderland?
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Customers in Dhaka can also ask about fast or urgent delivery when available.
If you are checking Seven Ways We Lie by Riley Redgate Book price in Bangladesh, it is useful to compare the physical quality of the copy along with the listed price.
Book customization is also available. For stock, customization, or delivery questions, you can contact Bookish Wonderland through Facebook or Instagram.
A Good Choice for Readers Who Like Character-Driven YA
Seven Ways We Lie Book by Riley Redgate brings together seven teenagers who look very different from one another but are all hiding something.
The teacher-student scandal gives the plot its central problem, while the changing viewpoints show how gossip, attraction, family stress, identity, and insecurity affect each person differently.
The novel works well for readers who enjoy high school stories where characters matter as much as the mystery.
Its seven-narrator structure gives readers several personalities and relationships to follow without requiring a complicated fantasy world or long series.
Order your copy from Bookish Wonderland for nationwide delivery, Cash on Delivery, premium cream paper, clear printing, and strong stitched plus glue binding.
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| Primary Specification | |
| Author | Riley Redgate |
| Narrator | Erin Moon, Bailey Carr, Luke Daniels, Gary Dikeos, Lauren Fortgang, Therese Plummer, Vikas Adam |
| Editor | Maria T. Middleton |
| Genre | Young Adult Fiction, Contemporary Fiction, LGBTQ+ Fiction, Romance |
| ISBN-13/ISSN | 978-1419723483 |
| ISBN-10 | 1419723480 |
| Publisher | Amulet Paperbacks |
| Publishing Date | April 4, 2017 |
| Language | English |
| Reading Age | 13+ |
| Format | Printed Book |
| Physical Specification & Quality | |
| Paper Quality | Premium eye-soothing cream paper |
| Binding Quality | High quality stitched and glue binding (for longevity) |
| Print Quality | Crystal-clear print |
| Pages | 368 pages |
| Country | USA |
| Logistics Information | |
| Weight | 388 gm |
| Length | 8.5 inches |
| Width | 5.6 inches |
| Height | 0.55 inch |
