About the Book

Book: I’ll Take the Lie
Author: Nancy E. Wood
Genre: Christian YA
Release Date: June 28, 2019

Does the truth really set you free?

Paige Hall doubts it, after her boyfriend Justin tells her he’s over it, leaving her with a broken heart and crushed dreams. When Justin disappears, she can’t help but try to find out what happened to him. But when the more she searches, the more problems arise, she can’t help but wonder if it would be better to just accept the lie…

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MY THOUGHTS.....

As I read Paige Hall's story, I was reminded once again how blessed I was to grow up in a Christian home. Paige's parents drink alcohol and they aren't always faithful to each other so their three children are growing up with negative influences, to say the least. As her story begins, Paige doesn't know why her boyfriend Justin broke up with her and she doesn't know why he has suddenly disappeared. As she begins to search for answers, she seems to be the only one really concerned that he is gone. It is as her search continues that we get a glimpse of just how troubling her life truly is!

I'll Take the Lie offers readers a mystery and a realistic portrayal of the temptations that today's teens face. Topics such as teen drinking, use of drugs, and sexual intimacy are mentioned and Paige discovers a shocking secret as her search for Justin continues. When Paige questions if she should have left the truth unsaid, she is reminded by her Christian friend Amy that "The truth is always better, Paige. It might hurt, but it's the real thing. We can't live fairytale lives." Or, as the Bible tells us in John 8:32, "And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."

There isn't a strong faith message spoken but Paige's friend Amy is a positive Christian influence and her Christian witness gives Paige a look at forgiveness and redemption. I'll Take the Lie is a well-written and thought-provoking book by Nancy E. Wood and I recommend it to both teen and adult readers.

I received a copy from the author and Celebrate Lit. A favorable review was not required and these are my own thoughts.

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

About the Author

Nancy E Wood was born into a missionary family and lived in Hungary until she turned twenty. Her whole childhood, she loved reading and stories, writing some of her own, but never believing she actually had the talent to be an author. Speaking multiple languages, she never thought she would be good enough in any to become a wordsmith.

Her senior year of high school, she was encouraged to write short stories, one of which turned into Perfect, a novel that couldn’t stay short. After sharing it with a few people, she decided to get it published a couple years later. She went to college in Florida, where she studied English and Music. After graduating, she married and moved to California. She published her second standalone book, I’ll Take the Lie, in the summer of 2019 and is currently working on a sequel to Perfect. She also runs a blog for young women, where she writes relatable and motivational posts that point to God. She has also done some speaking in different Christian schools and youth groups, encouraging teens to pursue Christ through some of the most difficult years of their lives.

More from Nancy

What’s truth? Why is it important? Does everyone have their own kind of truth or is there only one?

Those were questions I was dealing with in my college Apologetics class while I wrote I’ll Take the Lie, and I thought that theme would fit so well into the story.

The idea came to me a long time ago. I was really into The Great Gatsby at the time and wanted to write a story from a bystander’s point of view. Originally titled What’s Wrong with Alex?, Paige, the worried sister of Alex, who drastically changed over his first semester of college, wants to find out what happened to him. But the deeper I went into the story, the more Paige’s character shone through, and she soon became the protagonist with her ex boyfriend’s mysterious disappearance. The whole theme tied into what I was studying about apologetics and truth, so the messy pieces all came together into a solid plot.

Paige isn’t a believer, and she doesn’t really care about the idea of truth and spirituality until she gets dragged into it. It’s my hope that this book story helps young adults like me think deeper and question their beliefs. We get so caught up with our own happiness, we don’t always want to accept the hard truth. But, like Paige, we need to think about whether we can keep living pretend lives or if the truth really does set us free.