The Lie Tree wins Costa Book of the Year
The Lie Tree, by Frances Hardinge, is a Victorian detective novel that follows Faith, a 14 year old girl.
When her father is found dead under mysterious circumstances she discovers a strange tree in his belongings. The tree only grows healthy and bears fruit if you whisper a lie to it. Could this tree hold the key to her father’s death?
The only other children’s book to win this prestigious award, in 2001, was The Amber Spyglass , part of the His Dark Materials Trilogy by Philip Pullman – published by Scholastic.
Frances Hardinge was quoted saying: “In the wider world sometimes children’s fiction is seen as a bit lightweight in a way that is not deserved. The fact that it has been recognised is, from my point of view, completely lovely but from a less selfish point of view I would see this recognition of the wonderful work which is being done throughout in children’s and YA writing.
“There is a lot of exciting stuff going on and increasing awareness of diversity, there is some very interesting literature.”
The Lie Tree is available for £4.99!
We also recommend the previous winners Costa Book Children’s category – Five Children on the Western Front and Chaos Walking Trilogy .