The Big Lie by Julie Mayhew

What if the UK surrendered to Germany during WWII? What would life be like today under the German Reich? This is the back drop for the coming-of-age story of Jessika “Jess” Keller in The Big Lie by Julie Mayhew.

Jess is the daughter of a powerful British Nazi party leader and is set to become an international skating champion. She is a good girl, as she must be if she wants to remain alive under this regime. Then there is Clementine, just Clem to Jess, who is Jess’s best friend. Clem’s family are resistors. They are dangerous and the Reich is watching.

Clem has a strong influence on Jess. Slowly Jess starts to question all the things she has been taught, which is basically all government propaganda. When she see what happens to those who dare to oppose the party she is conflicted. She wants to please her father but she also has a strong loyalty to Clem. It is a no-win situation, Jess will have to betray someone.

I was drawn in by the synopsis of the story. I was thinking about all the possible things that could be happening in the UK if it was occupied by Germany and the Nazi party was still in control. What kind of propaganda would the party be feeding its citizens? How would the integration into German society and government have worked? Regrettably, the story did not include much of this, just snippets here and there. Never the less, the story was wonderful and I loved the character of Clem. I was a little disappointed in Jess’s character, she was a little too submissive for the plot I thought. Yet, I did love how the author handled Jess’s struggle with her sexuality.

The story deals with issues such as discrimination, sexism, propaganda and feminism as well as sexuality. In addition, it is very relevant given all that is happening in the world today. The book is powerful and thought provoking. The perfect vehicle with which to discuss these issues. I think this book will appeal to fans of history and alternative history stories with political themes.

I received a free copy from the publisher, via Library Thing’s Early Reviewer program, in exchange for my honest review.