The Safest Lies

by Megan Miranda

Overview

From the New York Times bestselling author of All the Missing Girls and The Perfect Stranger comes a captivating psychological thriller about a girl who must face her darkest fears—but can she outrun the past?
 
Kelsey has lived most of her life in a shadow of suspicion, raised to see danger everywhere. Her mother hasn’t set foot outside their front door in seventeen years, since she escaped from her kidnappers with nothing but her attacker’s baby growing inside her—Kelsey.
 
Kelsey knows she’s supposed to keep a low profile and stay off the grid for their protection, but that plan is shattered when her dramatic car accident and rescue by volunteer firefighter and classmate Ryan Baker sparks media coverage.
 
A few days later, she arrives home to find her mother missing. Now, to have a chance at a future, Kelsey will have to face her darkest fears. Because someone is coming for her. And the truth about the past may end up being the most dangerous thing of all.

"[A] fast-paced, suspenseful treat." —PW, starred

"Positively movie-ready." —Kirkus
 
“Will blow readers’ minds.” —SLJ

Praise for Megan Miranda's All the Missing Girls:

"This thriller's all of your fav page-turners (think: Luckiest Girl Alive, The Girl on the Train, Gone Girl) rolled into one." —TheSkimm

"Fast-paced and frightening." —Refinery29

"[The] perfect read for thriller fans." —Bustle.com

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780553537543
Publisher:	Random House Children's Books
Publication date:	05/30/2017
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	384
Sales rank:	63,117
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.20(h) x 0.90(d)
Age Range:	14 - 17 Years

About the Author

Megan Miranda is the acclaimed author of The Safest Lies, and several other novels for young adults, including Fracture. She is also the New York Times bestselling author of All the Missing Girls and The Perfect Stranger for adults. She lives in North Carolina with her husband and two children. You can follow Megan on Facebook at AuthorMeganMiranda, or on Instagram and Twitter at @MeganLMiranda.

Read an Excerpt

CHAPTER 1
(Continues…)

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Excerpted from "The Safest Lies"
by .
Copyright © 2017 Megan Miranda.
Excerpted by permission of Random House Children's Books.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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Editorial Reviews

"Reluctant and voracious readers alike will enjoy the twisty turns present in this mystery." —VOYA 

“A strong fit for readers who want fast-paced stories about girls learning to fight back.” —The Bulletin
 
“Readers who love a little bit of romance with their thrills and chills will love this new young adult novel.” —Bookish.com

“Recommended for any collection.” —Booklist

From the Publisher

04/01/2016
Gr 7–10—Kelsey awakens dangling upside down from her seat belt, her car having careened through the guard rail. She is pretty sure a car forced her off the road, but the police find no sign of another vehicle. Kelsey has good reason to be fearful. Her mother was abducted at age 17, held for over a year, and then escaped, pregnant. Kelsey's mother lives in constant fear of being pursued by her captors. Their house is a fortress, which she has never left, and Kelsey has been homeschooled until now. Only a visit from the state's child services department has forced her mother to allow the teen to have a minimal amount of freedom—she can attend the local high school. An insightful bit of research on mice epigenetics referenced by her mother's therapist reveals that a parent's fears can be passed to second-generation children through DNA, even though they have not experienced the same traumas. Is it actual danger that lurks around every corner, or is Kelsey just manifesting her mother's ingrained phobias? YA suspense at its very best: this psychological thriller will blow readers' minds. VERDICT A fantastic choice for reluctant readers, this page-turner will be a hit with fans of Eliot Schrefer's The Deadly Sister.—Leah Krippner, Harlem High School, Machesney Park, IL

School Library Journal

2016-02-17
Kelsey has lived her entire 17 years with her mother in a house set up like a fortress. When her agoraphobic mom disappears, Kelsey finds herself in real danger. Kelsey's mother was a famous kidnapping victim, and Kelsey is the daughter of the kidnapper. Her mom has no memory of the year she spent confined in a dark basement, but when she escaped she bought an upscale secluded house and rigged it up with a sophisticated security system, complete with barred windows and a panic room. A traffic accident puts the white teen in contact with classmate Ryan, a volunteer firefighter (and also white) who rescues her. On returning home from a ceremony honoring him, Kelsey realizes not only that her mother is missing, but that someone is trying to get into the house, sending her and Ryan into the panic room. Once their ordeal ends, Kelsey's full of questions about her still-missing mother. All of Kelsey's life, her mom has taught her to lie. Can it be that her mom has lied to her? Miranda writes some marvelously suspenseful scenes and keeps the story's pace zooming along at a high clip during extensive action scenes. She keeps an underlying plotline of a romance with Ryan flowing along, and it provides nice relief from the suspense. If Ryan seems a bit too good to be true, fans won't mind. Positively movie-ready. (Thriller. 12-18)

Kirkus Reviews