I picked this up because what an amazing and creative and original idea, a tree the grows and feeds on lies! And it's not just you telling it lies, you have to make other people believe those lies. I mean, how cool and creepy is that? I will tell you, it's VERY cool and creepy. And then, as the lie spreads, the tree grows a fruit that, when you eat is, reveals something secret, and at least tangentially related to the lie, to you. The possibilities are endless. But overall, I was disappointed in the story beyond that, which sucks. First, this was essentially a murder mystery "whodunnit" type tale, which I feel like is just an underachieving plot for this type of idea. The main character, Faith, was an awesome spunky girl, all about breaking female stereotypes for the time period she lived in. And I appreciate that in general, what a great model for young and YA readers, but there was something about her, her actions and role, that was too archetypal. I felt that she just wasn't enough her own character in her own right. And the biggest issue, for me, was the religious undertones, etc. Like, for the characters it makes sense - a Reverend who was also a natural scientist, of course when he found what the tree could do he'd want to know about the origins of man (especially with Darwin's publications and all that). But again, I just think that was just too predictable a connection to make, with the nod to the "tree of knowledge," and I mean yea, the tree could give an answer for that, but as a plot line, what's the reveal there? I mean, we (readers) already know that, so the hammer blow won't be as big for us. And then there were just a lot of little pieces that were not fully fleshed out, things like why it grew so big for Faith, but not her father (even though he clearly told bigger lies that more people believed), or when Faith started calling it the Lie Tree (maybe I missed it, but that happened without explanation), or the whole way the tree was so easily burned down in the end (like how did it last so long before that and how was that much light enough to take down something as big as the tree had gotten?). And finally, the line between real and "magic" was just not as well drawn as I'd like...it was weird to read about all the scientists, mainly the ladies (and, seriously regardless of anything else, shout out for so many strong, smart female characters), trying to explain the tree in scientific terms. I get that a lot of people in the world are like that, but it's just not something I want to read and it sat oddly for me, almost grated on me. In any case, a super cool idea that just didn't live up to what it could have been.