The Supreme Lie

by Geraldine McCaughrean

Twice Carnegie medal-winning Geraldine McCaughrean's enthralling new novel is set in a world paralysed by natural disaster and dangerous lies.

Fifteen-year-old Gloria is maid to Afalia's tyrannical Head of State, Madame Suprema. When the country is hit by unprecedented flooding, Madame Suprema runs away, fearing she will be blamed for the crisis. To cover up this cowardly act, Gloria is made to step into Madame Suprema's shoes and is thrust into a world of corrupt and desperate politicians. As Gloria becomes aware of the forces toying with her every move, she must take decisions that could save, or end, thousands of lives - including her own...

A brilliant and darkly funny commentary on our present times by one of our greatest writers.

Genres: Young Adult, Dystopia, Fantasy, Mystery, Science Fiction, Thriller, Fiction

288 pages, ebook

Published April 1, 2021

About the author

Geraldine McCaughrean is a British children's novelist. She has written more than 170 books, including Peter Pan in Scarlet (2004), the official sequel to Peter Pan commissioned by Great Ormond Street Hospital, the holder of Peter Pan's copyright. Her work has been translated into 44 languages worldwide. She has received the Carnegie Medal twice and the Michael L. Printz Award among others.

Reviews

[Beth White · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a brilliant read from Book Box Club. With a slightly slow start, the book suddenly took off at an extreme pace with the unfolding of the scenarios at hand and a 15 year old girl trying to hold together a kingdom while also fighting the challenges of staying true to herself while also needing to pretend to be the ruler she is imitating, while her humanitarian and compassionate nature consistently presses against the boundaries set by her role. Meanwhile we also follow the story of the disaster up North of the main city through the eyes of a dog. Crazy as it may seem, this actually works *brilliantly* and shows human nature as well as the effects on the animal kingdom in a way human eyes just would not do justice to.

This book was honestly such a breath of fresh air. There were stunning sentences and pieces of writing that would belong in any beautiful piece of literature, utterly unpatronising as a book written as a young adult novel. The author treats her readers as those able to handle beautiful writing while also keeping the subject matters just about on the right side of young adult vs adult by never going into the details of the situation that would cross that line into gore and inappropriate spaces for young readers. As an adult, it was lovely to read a book that was so beautifully written and engaging with no triggering subject matters. And yet at no point did I ever find myself feeling patronised or that I was reading a children’s book. Brilliantly done, Geraldine McCaughrean. I will be sure to look out for other books by this author.

[Bridget · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was excited to read this, I absolutely loved Where the World Ends and hoped that this one would be equally marvellous, but this was not to be. I skimmed the second half of the book. The premise of a maid playing the part of the leader of a country was intriguing, I enjoyed the character of Gloria, and the set up for this part of the story was great. What I didn’t love was the side stories, the dogs particularly irritated me.

Never mind, the stack of books beside the bed got higher yesterday after a visit to the bookshop, so on with the next book.

[thewoollygeek (tea, cake, crochet & books) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this unique and unusual, yet beautifully written book. It's such a thoughtful book, it’s a tale about truth, lies, friends, enemies and consequences of human actions. It’s quite slow to start, but worthwhile sticking to, as the pace picks up and by the last third you are completely addicted and need to know the outcome. Corruption, fake news, scheming , disinformation , this covers these very topical issues in a way that young readers and the more mature will find thought provoking, highly recommended

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

[Flo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed it though the ending was a little lacklustre.

[Annette · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been reading a lot of middle grades lately. I've also been reading a lot of New Adult lately. However, the young adults actually written for the young young adults, that has been a while. One could even argue if this is a young adult. Yes, the main character (one of the) is 15 going on 16, but a lot of typical young adult themes, like first love and first kisses and stuff like that, are not explored. However, I would say that's a positive. I'm very happy Book Box Club picked this book!

Mostly because the book does an amazing job portraying everything that happens to a country when disaster knocks on the door. Of course there's politics in this book, in its most ugly form, but the book is actually focussing mostly on human behavior when the worst happens. What do people do when there are ways to profit, to lie, to riot, to steal and to kill? And what do people do who are trapped in that game with everything to lose and nothing to win?

I don't want to give away too many spoilers, but I can say that McCaughrean doesn't shy away from the darker topics either. Without there being many details, which means that the book never becomes too heavy for the target audience, it does mention and show a lot of cruel things. Innocent animals are being killed, not all the people, and even the children, in this story make it and there are a few sickening moments that will leave a lasting impression for sure.

However, in between all that we have Gloria, the girl being 15 going on 16 who all of a sudden has to fake being the Suprema even though she knows nothing about politics and little about the ugly games people play. And we have a few amazing dogs, who tell us what's going on through their eyes. And especially Gloria grows so much in this story and learns so much! It's quite a joy, especially because she has such a beautiful heart.

A nice book with a few very valuable lessons too!

[Caz · Rating 3 out of 5]

it was honestly pretty good. it was a really fun read and wasn’t too heavy so that was nice. it had a good plot and characters and was just generally enjoyable. it was so random but yeah i liked it hahahah

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the fictional land of Afalia, the river is rising and the capital city of Praesto is in danger of flooding. Faced with death and destruction, and somewhat light on big ideas, the country's leader - the Suprema - jumps a train and flees the city, leaving her maid, her dog and her husband to work things out for themselves.

The Suprema's husband persuades Gloria, the maid, to impersonate his wife until she returns. Around them, the city is falling apart and the people are being lied to. In a desperate attempt to keep the city from flooding, the workers at the city's most important factories - one makes spoons, another makes knives, and so on - have been locked in and forced to pump out the rising waters to protect the production equipment. Dogs and other pets are rounded up, children are sent away, politicians lie to the people and come up with devious plots to bomb local towns to protect their city.

As an allegory for our recent lockdown conditions, it's a fascinating attempt to show how power corrupts and how easy it is to lie to people in the middle of a major disaster. As a way of showing how people will vote for anything if they think it's going to protect them no matter the cost to others, it's intriguing.

As a side plot, we have a dog in search of his boy and his family and a small cast of other animals behaving generally much better than the people do.

I enjoy a bit of Young Adult reading every now and then and this fits firmly in that category. I'm not sure I loved it, especially as it seemed a bit repetitive and overly long in places, but I did enjoy it. I couldn't really warm to any of the characters - with the exception of the dogs - but I enjoyed the situation that the author created and the various political power plays. I also laughed at the concept of a city that only made cutlery and still thought it was enormously important to keep on doing it - spoons before people, knives ahead of society, forks against the law.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for my copy.

[Johanna ♡ · Rating 5 out of 5]

The waters of Afalia are rising and the rain still isn't stopping. Gloria was just a housemaid when her employer, Madame Suprema, the Head of State, runs off for fear of being blamed for the crisis. Now it's up to Gloria and Timor, the Suprema's husband, to embark on a dangerous path of deception to cover up the Suprema's cowardliness. But Gloria will soon learn that the world of politics is more complicated than she could ever have dreamed and her choices now affect the lives of thousands.

This book was so creative and I loved everything about it! I was skeptical at first whether the author would be able to convincingly pull off having Gloria as the stand-in leader of a country at fifteen but it all worked out really well! I loved how Gloria was so naive to the world of politics. It made her better and worse for the people of Afalia because you could tell she really cared about them but she also approached issues head on instead of looking at the long term affect which could make things worse for the nation in the long run.

The plot was structured in a really fun way and I loved the incorporation of the newspapers. I have to admit I gave up on the anagrams after the second one because they got way to hard. I loved the part they played in the story though! The dogs were a great addition as well and they brought a nice relief when other parts of the story were growing tense. I honestly had no idea where the story was going to end up as I was reading the final chapters and I was starting to get worried that the ending wouldn't feel very complete but the resolution did a good job of leaving me satisfied.

This book also brought to life the issue of fake news and the importance of being on your guard and to not believe everything you read. This was a really good book and it was great to have a chance to chat with the author after reading as I received this from Book Box Club. Happy Reading :)

Buy your copy of The Supreme Lie here⤵️
https://blackwells.co.uk/bookshop/pro...

[Aramiheartilly · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.75 stars
This has to be one of the most bizzare but brilliant books I’ve read in a while. I’ve been reading, albeit sparingly, the remaining books from Book Box Club that I have left and since the audiobook was available from my library I went for it.
The world is somewhere around 1920s but it isn’t a country that exists in our reality. And it feels like an almost exaggerated and whimsical place turned dark to start with. The more it goes on, however, the more believable and real the people and characters feel.
I can’t quite give it 5 stars but it deserves more than even 4.5. I can see this being a good read for older children, YA and up. As an adult reading it it is easier to work out most of the lies and having the main charcaters as a 16 year old girl and a dog makes a lot of sense for how they see the world. It feels believable and their mistakes honest and real.
Much better than I expected. And about as bizzare.

[Karen Barber · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thanks to NetGalley I got an advance experience of The Supreme Lie.
In this latest offering from Geraldine McCaughrean we follow events in fictional Afalia. Terrible flooding, and The Suprema - who is meant to be in charge - has run away. Determined to not unduly worry citizens, her husband comes up with an audacious plan for their housekeeper - sixteen year old Gloria - to impersonate The Suprema.
Following Gloria as she pretends to be a woman three times her age, we share her incredulity as we see evidence of corruption at every turn. Gloria, unshackled by the expectations of public service, is determined to try and help.
In this world, nothing is quite as it seems.
Gloria is resourceful and well-meaning, and even shows that sometimes it’s possible to make a difference. Those around her show good and bad. I never really felt we got enough background to the situation/world of the book, and at times the pacing felt slow. My enjoyment of the book was marred by some of the typesetting issues of my ARC, which made sections of text quite incomprehensible.

[Marjolein · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is clearly directed to a somewhat younger audience, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. It treats a few important themes (reliability of the press, the way people act in emergencies etc) and it does that well. I loved a few of the twists (that I didn't all see coming) and I really liked the development of Gloria, from a very naive girl to slowly understanding more of what was going on. The idea of taking a few of the dogs as pov characters was great!

[Inês Alexandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a book a enjoyed reading despite the occasional whiplash effect of the POV. It was nice read that had me guessing every step of the way and the bits of news paper in between chapters really gave it an extra life.

Definetly a book to think about when comes down to it, so pick up your umbrellas and get ready for the flood.

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was okay but it just wasn't a book I could say I loved at all. I enjoyed Gloria and Timor as characters but they were the only things about it which kept me reading. The exagerrated events and the chapters told from the dog's point of view just didn't interest me and it is not a book I would rush to recommend.

[Briony2181 · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[jess mountain · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars (took me a while to read but quite good)

[Lia · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s more 3.5 stars
I enjoyed it but it was very confusing at points the end was very interesting and felt realistic

[Fiona · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book, the first I've read by McCaughrean for quite a while. There are some really nice touches, the story told from Heinz's perspective, the newspaper articles which show how easily news can be manipulated depending on who is in control and Gloria's slow realisation that situations and solutions are never black and white.
My only negative observation is that the characters lack a little depth so it's hard to engage with them at times.

[Ágnes Köteles · Rating 3 out of 5]

More like 2.5, but I’ll round it up to 3 stars mainly because Heinz’s story was a nice addition to a story that would be boring otherwise. That being said... it was painful and hard to read. I don’t think a book filled with this much politics is for me... especially if I needed to be sold on the fact that a 15 years old maid can pull this off.
I’m really sorry, I read the whole thing but I just couldn’t get into it.
The little newspaper articles were a nice addition though.

[Lucy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

McCaughrean usually writes books based in the real world, so when I saw she'd written something vaguely fantastical I was intrigued. However, I was slightly disappointed by the end result. She touches on some important and highly relevant themes - fake news, nationalism, corruption, workers' rights - but the story never came together for me into a coherent whole and the characters seemed pretty two dimensional, as the plot was so driven that you never really got to spend time in their heads. Probably a good middle grade read but not challenging enough for anyone older.

[Rebecca Cook · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was so different from most books I've read and gave a stark view of politics written in a beautiful and accessible way for young adults.

Providing an excellent social commentary on a natural disaster I was drawn in by these characters and after a slower paced start I raced through the final 50%.

My first novel by this author but it won't be my last.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

[Katy Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pertinent political dystopia.

So relevant, a young person's critique of society in the midst of natural disaster.

A country where the rain just won't stop. A city where the water needs to be kept out. A population who need leadership - and information.

Gloria works in the house of the ruler of Afalia, the Suprema. She presides over the politicians from behind a veil, her husband and dogs part of the background to her power and persona. Gloria observes the reaction of her mistress to the weather experts' predictions on the never-ending rain, and the Suprema's sudden decision to leave on the train out of the city.

But what about the factories? The workers? The water is relentless outside Praesto's walls, news from the countryside has stopped. Yet the newspapers continue to roll off the presses... And someone must continue to be in charge...

This becomes a very mature theme for young readers. The context keeps it relatable, with Gloria and other young people (and dogs) at the forefront of the story, observing the potential collapse of a society from the inside and even inside the seat of power. It's an insight into political machinations, into manipulation of language and the masses. It's almost a Junior 1984 at times.

I enjoyed the relationship that develops between Gloria and the Suprema's husband, readers won't know if they can trust him, what his intentions for his country are, or who to trust around them. An important lesson in critical thinking and considering intentions of those with power over us.

This gives readers a dark and sometimes sad look at what can happen in a national emergency, how some will step up and take charge, thinking of others, how others are unable to do this or even work against the common good for their own selfish ends.

I was honestly quite surprised at the level of maturity the author is requiring of her readers, having to watch quite disturbing and upsetting scenes - expect to see some child (labour) exploitation and scenes involving death (nothing graphic).

This will be best placed in the hands of a reader who has experience of persuasive language and who is able to understand that humans are not always well-intentioned.

For ages 10 and above.

With thanks to Netgalley for providing a sample reading copy.

[Iva · Rating 3 out of 5]

This just seemed more like an upper end middle grade book instead of a young adult one? I didn’t see anything that would class this as a teen book and I think the chapters from the dog’s point of view lost me.

(I only realised after buying this that there were dogs on the cover which should have warned me)

I don’t think it’s a bad book though, just not for me right now - I absolutely adored Where the World Ends and this ended up quite different to that writing style.

[Rachel Churcher · Rating 5 out of 5]

For more YA reviews, visit my blog - Unsupervised in a Bookstore .

What can I say about this book? The second book by Geraldine McCaughrean I have read proved to be every bit as quirky, wonderful, and unpredictable as the first (The White Darkness), and I was completely hooked.

Fifteen-year-old Gloria is a maid to the absolute ruler of Afalia, Madame Suprema. She is used to keeping her head down, serving meals with minimum fuss, and trying to stay invisible. When catastrophic floods devastate the country, Madame Suprema realises that she will be held responsible, and flees her home to avoid the consequences. Rather than allow the government to fall at such a critical moment, Gloria is chosen to impersonate the Suprema and bring the people of Afalia through the disaster.

Initially, Gloria is expected to follow a script and deceive the government and the people into believing the Suprema is still in control. As she finds herself drawn into the political turmoil and begins to witness the effects of the flooding, Gloria can't help getting involved. While the Suprema's husband is desperate to convince his young maid to stick to the script, Gloria's interventions begin to draw attention from senators, factory owners, and the people she hopes to protect. Small decisions turn out to have catastrophic consequences, and Gloria finds herself risking the lives of her people as she desperately tries to do the right thing.

This is an absolutely gripping story with characters who grow more engaging as the complexities of the plot reveal themselves. There are no predictable moments, and no predictable outcomes as each decision brings further problems and complications. Gloria is a wonderful character, driven by compassion for the people and a conviction that she must use her new position to dispense help and justice instead of continuing the despotic self-serving actions of the real Suprema. The supporting cast includes the downtrodden husband of the Suprema, various devious politicians, Gloria's childhood friend, and three dogs - two of whom expand the story in their own point-of-view chapters. Did I mention it was quirky?

The author uses humour and the absurdity of the situation to sneak some horrific events under the reader's radar. Much of the narration feels lighthearted, while dealing with life-and-death decisions and disasters, and this technique allows the author to tell a sometimes harrowing story without plunging the reader into despair. Gloria's optimism and determination to save people keeps the narrative feeling upbeat, and even when the reader can see danger in her actions, the maid-turned-Suprema keeps pushing for a positive outcome. The contrast between Gloria's good intentions and the devious self-serving actions of the politicians adds menace to an already precarious setup, and the Suprema's husband finds himself treading a careful line between the maid's ambitions and the credibility of the lie.

The audiobook, read by Ailsa Joy, brings a perky 1920s newsreel atmosphere to the narration. It's perfect for a quirky story that touches on so many serious issues, and I very much enjoyed listening.

[Alice Visser]

The country of Afalia has been hit by relentless rain leading to dangerous flooding. Gloria is a 15 year old maid to Madame Suprema, the secretive and dictatorial ruler of Afalia; she lives in the capital city Praesto and her only real friends are Daisy the dog, and Higgy, who works in a factory. When Madame Suprema runs away from the crisis, her husband world-weary husband Timor has to cover up her disappearance – and asks Gloria to pretend to be Madame Suprema. Much hilarity is the result, but with dark undercurrents of corruption, desperation, and most of all lies – which are supported and encouraged by the newspaper ‘The Voice’.

Meanwhile in the countryside, Heinz is a dog trying to find his Boy Clem, who has been flooded out of his home and is heading south as a refugee. In his search for his Boy, he travels with a dumb dog named MyCar, a pack of feral dogs and a horse. Heinz is desperate to avoid ‘Hound Death’ who because of the flooding is busy collecting souls of humans and animals.

These two narratives eventually weave together in this imaginative and highly original book. Gloria is a worthy heroine struggling to make the right decisions in her new position of power; her relationship with prickly Timor is comic gold but also complex. Heinz is everything a dog should be and more.

This is a thrilling adventure story with plenty of twists and turns, but it also has depth and breadth with an underlying social and political commentary on greed, corruption, manipulation, exploitation and mobs --- and also courage and the willingness to stand up for what is right and true.

I am a huge fan of Geraldine McCaughrean’s writing (Stop the Train is my family’s all-time favourite shared book – we listened to it as a family 12 years ago and it still regularly comes up in conversation). Her vivid imagery and clever use of unusual details creates unforgettable characters, and the understated and matter-of-fact narration of devastating events only increases the emotional punch they carry.

As I reached the last few pages of the book, I felt myself tearing up because the journey Geraldine McCaughrean was taking me on was coming to an end. The Supreme Lie is truly an extraordinary book which I will be recommending to students from Year 7 up – and to anyone else who enjoys a great read.

Thank you to Netgalley for an advance e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

[B.S. Casey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Genre: Young Adult | Dystopian | Fiction

Release Date: Expected 15th April 2021



The Suprema of Afalia has fled the city. The entire city of Praesto is in imminent danger of flooding and destruction, and now their leader is gone. Left behind is her maid, her husband and her dog - and they may be the only ones who know the situation deeply enough to try and fix it. Convinced by Madame Supremas husband, her maid Gloria agrees to wear the Veil of the Suprema and pose as their leader - the city needs to believe they have a leader if they have any hope of surviving.

Soon, the evacuation begins - pets are rounded up in the streets, the children are sent to safer places, businesses are closed and the politicans continue to do as they always have - lie. For Gloria, the answers are simple - do the right thing for the people. But she hasn't accounted for how just how corrupt and twisted the systems put in place to protect her really are.

This book is technically Young Adult fiction, but The Supreme Lie covers so much that it's almost impossible to categorize. Just a teenager herself, Gloria is forced very quickly into a world she had no idea existed and the fate of everybody is very much in her hands. Her eyes are opened to the horrors and manipulations of the world she lives in and it's up to her to fix it.

As we follow her journey as the new Suprema, we also get a first hand view of the broken city she is trying to protect through the eyes of a dog who lives in it's streets and sees everything. The narration was so uniquely engaging and vivid - each voice so distinct.


Sharply witty, dark and wickedly clever - this was an uncomfortable close examination of human nature and definitely felt a little too real, with thinly veiled parallells to the world we are living in and the fictional world Gloria calls home.


RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐


Thank you to Geraldine McCaughrean and Usbourne Publishing for an ARC in return for an honest review.

[Rebecca Veight · Rating 4 out of 5]

Madame Suprema, the head of Afalia runs away when the land is in danger of flooding, to avoid the consequences. To cover up her disappearance, Gloria her 15 year old maid takes her place, a feat accomplished since the leader hasn't shown her face in years, hiding behind a veil.

I adore fish out of water situations. Not only does Gloria have to impersonate someone else, but she has the fate of her country in her hands and shady politics to deal with. The antithesis of her small town roots with the powerful woman she must portray is depicted quite well. The evolution of the character and her eyes opening to 'how the world really works' is done quite well too. Her 'simple' questions spark your pondering of societal issues and how life should be.

The narrative is quirky and noir and at the same time with inventive flourishes like pages from the Afalian newspaper between chapters and the thoughts of dogs! Peppered with poignant descriptions and quite imaginative figurative speech for example, "she could feel herself shrinking as spinach does from cooking".

I began wishing the book would concentrate more on Gloria acting as Suprema and less on other stuff. The dog thing dragged a little in the 1st half of the book, even though it was an original way to see what was really happening in the rest of the country.

Commenting on the situation of there being haves and have-nots and the glaring differences between them. The 'powerful" and the 'powerless'. How we wield power says a lot about our character, what kind of people we are. How a crisis can bring out the best or the worst in people. How resilient people can be.

Shocking and twisty, this is a seemingly simple but actually multilayered examination of human nature and how dark it and politics can be, but still full of hopeful messages that people can and want to make a difference.

[Sophie Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gloria is the maid to Madame Suprema; a horrible woman. She lives in a land that has been flooded by months and months of rain. The situation is looking very dire. Madame Suprema leaves town and her train is thrown from the track due to flood water and she perishes. The Suprema's husband decides to let Gloria impersonate his wife rather than tell the city she has died. And so a weird story begins to unravel. What lengths will people go to for power and survival? Poor Gloria is about to find out. Meanwhile, the story also follows lost dog Heinz and how he survives the catastrophe happening outside city walls.

Things I liked:
- I enjoyed the subtle dark humour
- The intrigue and mystery
- Gloria and Timor were great characters
- The newspaper articles were fun and added a nice break in the narrative
- The message that news is easy to manipulate

Things I didn't like:
- Slow beginning. Not much happened and it took a while to get going.
- Heinz... I enjoyed Heinz as a character and I liked his story but I felt like it shouldn't have been in this book. The dual narrative took away from the main story and it felt it was too random.

'The Supreme Lie', is one of the weirdest books I've read. I enjoyed it but was left scratching my head and wondering who is the reader of this book meant to be. The odd dual narrative, the dark sense of humour, and weird story were odd combinations to find in a YA book. The messages behind this book were all ones young people need to be aware of (climate change, fake news, etc.) but the delivery of these messages was done in a way I think some young people would miss.

It's a wild adventure I could not put down but be warned, the beginning is slow.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book provides interesting discussions on political manipulation, wealth, mob mentality and the impact of desperation on decision making.

Content warning (cw):

Language: damn*4, damned, damnation*2, schmuck, stupid*12, idiot

Violence/gore: There are brief descriptions of violence and death. Example: ‘his mouth and eye-sockets, hands and hollows of his throat were full of unintelligible metal words. A flagon of printing ink stored in the base of the desk had rolled and spilled, surrounding his body with a lake of blackness’. In order for the city to empty of the flood they need to break a dam further downstream, but doing so will result in a town further downstream being flooded. The town is sheltering thousands of refugees from other areas which were flooded. The workers are prepared to break the dam because the newspapers have been vilifying the town’s people. They are convinced to leave the dam in place by the protagonist, until five hundred of the workers’ children are kidnapped. It is mentioned that thousands of people have died.

Other: Almost everyone in the city is held captive, forced to create pumps and use them to keep factories clear of water. They are not allowed to return home, and conditions worsen rapidly as sickness and hunger become problems. The leaders claim it’s because dogs in the city have gone rabid so it isn’t safe to go home. People unknowingly eat their pets. One of the dogs sees ‘Hound Death’ a number of times. ‘Choice? said Hound Death. I have no choice.. Only my duty. As we all have. You think life’s heard? You should try my job. And tears welled from bloodshot eyes and rolled down a greying snout.’

Trigger warnings: forced imprisonment, death, kidnapping of children

[Donna Burkert]

Who would you trust when faced with The Supreme Lie? A gripping, twisting plot from Geraldine McCaughrean.

Gloria, maid to Madame Suprema; carer of Madame’s discarded dog, Daisy; keeper of secrets, secrets so terrifying that one whisper of them could see her, and Timor (Madame’s long-silenced husband), executed. For Gloria, the once lowly maid, has been ‘playing’ the role of Madame ever since The Suprema secretly fled the city. With the once-thought indestructible city of Praesto under threat from the Great Flood, and officials covering up the inevitable for The People, there is nothing to do but to carry on with ‘business as usual’. Only, Gloria is more compassionate than the Suprema and she struggles to stick to the lines she is told. She questions and digs and unearths events that, as a lowly maid, she shouldn’t know.

And all the while the water continues to rise, to destroy, to flood.

As Gloria watches the terrible injustices being metered out to the people of Praesto, she takes the opportunity to make changes. Little does she realise the reaction to her actions would cause such a tidal wave of problems, for her, for Timor, for Praesto and far beyond to the Rose Plains and more. Can she unpick the problems and truths, truths hidden in secret messages and twisted words, before Praesto and beyond are destroyed? And who can she trust?

[Lipsy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book supplied by Lovereading4schools in exchange for an honest review.


"Secret...Important...A Necessary Lie".
The country of Afalia is drowning. It's drowning from dangerous flooding and it's also drowning in lies. Ruled by the mysterious dictator Madame Suprema who never reveals her face, the city of Praesto is in danger of being washed away like the rest of the country. 

When things go from bad to worse Madame Suprema disappears, leading to a slowly unravelling comedy of errors as her fifteen year old maid, Gloria, reluctantly steps into her shoes. Literally. 
The first thing that struck me about this book was the effortless writing, but we should expect nothing less from a two time Carnegie winner. McCaughrean weaves together an exciting political thriller, social commentary on climate change and dictatorship, and a darkly humorous tale of corruption and deception. And all completely accessible for KS3 readers. 
I think young readers will be especially enamoured by the storyline of Heinz the dog, who has been flooded out of his home in the countryside and is trying to find his owners. Even if some of the subtext is missed, it can be read simply as an exciting adventure story set in a dystopian land.