On the shelf: The Little Liar

By Courtney Warren

The power of social media never ceases to amaze me. I am an active social media user, and, recently, I put my email in my bio, which has caused different companies to reach out asking if I’d be interested in trying or reviewing their products. One of the coolest things happened a few weeks ago, when someone from Harper Collins Publishing reached out. They saw my review of Strangers in a Lifeboat by Mitch Albom and wanted to know if I’d be interested in reading his new book, The Little Liar. I said yes and sent over my address, excited to read the new release because of how much I loved Strangers in a Lifeboat. 

The book arrived quickly, and it wasn’t long before I was totally captivated by another Mitch Albom story. 

Friends, this book is incredible. The Little Liar tells the story of a little boy named Nico, who lives in Salonika during the time of the Nazi invasion. He is known for never telling a lie–a beautiful and trustworthy little Jewish boy. As the Nazis continue to force their way into Greece, Nico’s family is thrown out of their business, synagogue, school, and finally their home. When he gets separated from his family, Nico meets a Nazi general, who convinces him that the trains leaving their local station will be taking his Jewish friends and family somewhere safe, so they can start over. Nico is asked to stand on the platform and assure his friends and family that they are going to be safe. Trusting this little boy, the Jewish community gets onto the trains…which take them to Auschwitz. 

Narrated by the voice of truth itself, Albom weaves the stories of Nico, his older brother Sebastion, their crush Fannie, and the Nazi officer Udo together as he described the journey these characters take during the rise and fall of the Nazis. His story shows the repercussions of lies and the freedom of truths. I can’t recommend it enough, and this story solidified Albom as one of my favorite authors of all time.