‘The Liar Among Us’: An ambitious YA campus thriller that understands its primary readership well

Bishhal Paull’s debut novel, The Liar Among U,s is a campus thriller written primarily for a YA audience. Set in Valorhouse International, an elite boarding school in Sikkim, the novel follows its protagonist’s quest to find answers to the mystery of Madhab, a missing student at this school.

A mean place

Valorhouse is a ticket to bigger things in life and getting admission here is no mean feat, particularly for students like Angad Sandhu, the book’s protagonist and often its narrator. For Angad, the faraway school is both a means for a better future and a way to escape his family life. But life at Valorhouse, a place full of privileged students who aren’t the first generation from their family studying here, isn’t easy either. As Angad makes a few friends and many more enemies, his first year at Valorhouse takes a turn for the strange when rumours regarding Madhab grow stronger. In a bid to gain points for himself and his club, Angad unwittingly finds himself at the centre of this mystery along with his friends Sree and Arisha. To add to the already fragile atmosphere of the place, there are supernatural elements from the local folklore at play, making their presence felt from time to time.

As the novel heads towards its ending, more and more skeletons tumble out of the cupboards of different characters. The boundary between truth and lies becomes blurred and like the shapeshifting creatures that keep appearing in the book, the truths of the characters’ lives also seem to be changing from one moment to the next.

The Liar Among Us fills a gap in Young Adult literature in India in a way that is sure to appeal to older teenagers. The characters in the novel grapple with several issues that its target readership will be able to resonate with. Be it the struggle of a newcomer to settle in a new school or the reigning champion’s attempts to hold on to his crown in the face of a new challenger, the angst of being misunderstood or the struggles of finding one’s identity, caste-based discrimination or bullying by seniors – the novel has them all. Novel set in boarding schools always have a special charm for they conjure and capture the romantic idea of a world away from the control of parents. Placing its characters in a locale where they can spend most of their daily life in the company of their friends, along with the chance to be a part of many adventures, further adds to this trope’s appeal.

Paull’s novel uses this boarding school trope to its full advantage. Its endearing campus life, replete with competitions, friendships, budding romances, as well as the struggles of its young character,s will help endear it to the audience. Paull makes this mix even more interesting by adding local flavour in the form of supernatural elements from the local and regional folklore.

A compelling voice

Apart from the central mystery and the struggles of teenagers, themes of guilt and truth also take centre stage in the book. Most characters are guilty of something, ranging from sheer cruelty to simple carelessness, and their truths are often at odds with each other. Paull also attempts to make his characters feel real. Most of them are people with emotional baggage and Paull makes it a point that his readers get at least a glimpse of what makes them who they are and what drives them to do what they do. His writing also has the potential to be very evocative and visual, such as in the prologue, which drops the readers in the middle of the action and piques their curiosity.

But there are also places where the book falters. At times, Paull’s attempts to address many different subjects give the feeling that he is trying to juggle too many balls – which dulls the sharpness of his writing. Then there’s also the switching between the first- and third-person narrative, which breaks the novel’s rhythm when it happens in quick succession in a single chapter. I could see why Paull chose both these narrative techniques, but his narrative would have felt smoother if he had dedicated separate chapters to separate points of view or chosen to go with the third-person narrator for the entire novel.

Despite this, The Liar Among Us is an ambitious work of YA writing that understands its primary readership well. Given its appealing setting and story driven by the force of its central mystery, it isn’t surprising that the book is already being considered for a screen adaptation. For now, its characters with their complex interpersonal relationships, campus setting, and intriguing plot will appeal to the young adult readers.

The Liar Among Us, Bishhal Paull, Bloomsbury India.