Liar’s Test (Ambelin Kwaymullina, Text)

The latest YA novel from Palyku author Ambelin Kwaymullina is a high-action, thematically rich fantasy with a gutsy, intuitive protagonist who must become a good liar to survive in the city-kingdom of Radiance, where Treesingers have long been living under oppression by the Risen. Fifteen-year-old Bell Silverleaf is a Treesinger and a memory-walker with the ability to revisit the past in terrific detail, experiencing memories as present moments. Bell has been captive for four years, snatched by sun-priests after her Treesinger grove was plagued by a mysterious sickness that left all people, plants and animals locked in a frozen sleep—all except for Bell. Now Radiance is preparing to choose a new ruler via the Queen’s Test, a series of challenges that seven girls will compete in to determine who will rule. Bell has been nominated as the first-ever Treesinger candidate, but is it a ploy to kill her? Perhaps, but Bell will take her chances and compete, if only to ‘wreak a little havoc’ upon the Risen. Kwaymullina’s character development is strong, and she has created a rich lore full of beauty and complexity. Readers may find the long dream and memory sequences in Liar’s Test challenging to follow, particularly if they are expecting a conventional dystopian thriller such as The Hunger Games or Divergent. However, this fierce and deeply imaginative story, inspired by First Nations women’s resilience and ongoing resistance to colonialism, has the potential to attract readers of literary YA fiction such as Lystra Rose’s The Upwelling, as well as offering the mainstream appeal of Isobelle Carmody’s books; for readers aged 14+.

Books+Publishing reviewer: Charlotte Callander is a freelance writer and an educator at Melbourne Museum. Books+Publishing is Australia’s number-one source of pre-publication book reviews.

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