Enjoy fast, free delivery, exclusive deals, and award-winning movies & TV shows with Prime
Try Prime and start saving today with fast, free delivery

Kindle
$11.99

Available instantly

Hardcover
$12.99

Paperback
$12.99

$12.99 with 32 percent savings

List Price: $18.99

Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime FREE Returns

FREE delivery Sunday, June 9 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35

Or fastest delivery Wednesday, June 5. Order within 8 hrs 10 mins

Select delivery location

In Stock

$$12.99 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details

Ships from

Amazon.com

Ships from

Amazon.com

Sold by

Amazon.com

Sold by

Amazon.com

Returns

Eligible for Return, Refund or Replacement within 30 days of receipt

Returns

Eligible for Return, Refund or Replacement within 30 days of receipt

This item can be returned in its original condition for a full refund or replacement within 30 days of receipt.

Read full return policy

Payment

Secure transaction

Payment

Secure transaction

We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Learn more

Details

Add a gift receipt for easy returns

Other sellers on Amazon

New & Used (65) from $5.23 + $4.49 shipping

Follow the author

Amanda McCrina

Follow

I'll Tell You No Lies Hardcover – August 1, 2023

by Amanda McCrina (Author)

4.4 16 ratings

Editors' pick Best Young Adult

See all formats and editions

Sorry, there was a problem loading this page. Try again.

{"desktop_buybox_group_1":[{"displayPrice":"$12.99","priceAmount":12.99,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"12","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"99","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"dneogiu1m6iUxVqbyea7KORK2o07OPlFrCNFr76MKiXyOcpWVB%2FoHv%2F3r1CyEfBfX1tALFn0IfOAYlb2UQ1Z5MOxyv0VRsXx8Tc6ieZQDoIKIOC%2F9D095GoQkCf7ccRpsWhS0yoneyisg%2BIyWMeDRw%3D%3D","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"NEW","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":0}]}

Purchase options and add-ons

From Amanda McCrina, the acclaimed author of Traitor and The Silent Unseen, I'll Tell You No Lies is a riveting YA novel of the Cold War era about a girl in post-World War II America who becomes entangled with an escaped Soviet pilot and must learn to decipher truth from lies.

New York, 1955. Eighteen-year-old Shelby Blaine and her father, an Air Force intelligence officer, have just been wrenched away from their old life in West Germany to New York’s Griffiss Air Force Base, where he has been summoned to lead the interrogation of an escaped Soviet pilot. Still in shock from the car accident that killed her mother barely a month earlier, Shelby struggles with her grief, an emotionally distant father, and having to start over in a new home.

Then a chance meeting with Maksym, the would-be defector, spirals into a deadly entanglement, as the pilot’s cover story is picked apart and he attempts to escape his military and intelligence handlers―with Shelby caught in the middle. The more she learns of Maksym’s secrets, including his detention at Auschwitz during the war, the more she becomes willing to help him. But as the stakes become more dangerous, Shelby begins to question everything she has been told, even by her fugitive friend. Allies turn into enemies, and the truth is muddled by lies. Can she trust a traitor with her life, or will it be the last mistake she ever makes?

Reading age

12 - 18 years
Print length

224 pages
Language

English
Grade level

7 - 9
Lexile measure

HL720L
Dimensions

5.7 x 0.8 x 8.55 inches
Publisher

Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)
Publication date

August 1, 2023
ISBN-10

0374390991
ISBN-13

978-0374390990
See all details

Amanda Mccrina
69
Paperback
1 offer from $6.99
Kika Hatzopoulou
330
Hardcover
68 offers from $6.50
Amanda Mccrina
200
Paperback
63 offers from $1.99
Nick Brooks
384
Hardcover
71 offers from $3.49
Ali Hazelwood
11,001
Paperback
78 offers from $4.81
Katherine Marsh
128
Hardcover
58 offers from $3.60

Get to know this book

What's it about?
A girl in post-World War II America becomes entangled with an escaped Soviet pilot and must learn to decipher truth from lies.
Amazon editors say...
With its spiders web of deceptions, this historical thriller set during the Cold War kept me guessing.
Al Woodworth, Amazon Editor

Editorial Reviews

Review

A Junior Library Guild Selection
An Amazon Best Book of the Month
A Bank Street College of Education Best Children's Book of the Year
Fully Booked by Kirkus Reviews Editors' Pick of the Week

“A fast-paced, twisty story that keeps readers on their toes . . . This spy thriller is peppered with rich period details. Shelby’s character feels like an authentic portrayal of an intelligent, college-bound teenager of the time, lending the book the realistic air of the past come to vivid life. A fascinating dive into a segment of history that reverberates today.” ―Kirkus Reviews

“Tensely wrought . . . A high-stakes spy thriller that features period-relevant intrigue and simmering romance.” ―Publishers Weekly

“The ingenious McCrina (The Silent Unseen, 2022) ensures that readers will have a field day with this well-plotted, engaging thriller, and that’s no lie.” ―Booklist

“McCrina develops an exciting, engrossing plot―as an unknown Soviet mole and known American operatives close in, Shelby and Maksim must choose what secrets to share, whether to trust one another, and how to save each other . . . Thrilling, historically accurate, and morally complex, this title is sure to please readers of Elizabeth Wein.” ―School Library Journal

“McCrina provides fascinating details about the Cold War era . . . Her characters, authentic development, and sharp dialogue keep the reader glued to the page.” ―The Historical Novel Society

“A thrilling dive into the complexities of the Cold War, I’ll Tell You No Lies also provides a heartbreaking glimpse of lesser-known Ukrainian experiences during WWII. With unexpected twists and vibrant characters, McCrina’s sharp, powerful prose shines in this brilliantly researched, fast-paced novel.” ―Erin Litteken, author of The Memory Keeper of Kyiv

“Amanda McCrina has hit it out of the ballpark with this tense and lean Cold War thriller, meticulously researched and tightly written. What I loved most about this novel is that it relied on no tropes nor stereotypes, but instead plunged the reader into a breathless time and place with authenticity and nuance. Brava.” ―Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch, author of Winterkill

“Tense, thrilling, and well-researched, Amanda McCrina’s I’ll Tell You No Lies immerses the reader into the fever pitch of the Cold War with captivating twists and turns.” ―Adrian Lysenko, author of Five Stalks of Grain

“McCrina’s writing soars in this masterfully built Cold War-era thriller that will keep readers on the edge of their seats with its astonishing twists and turns. Start to finish a compulsive and emotional read.” ―Marina Scott, author of The Hunger Between Us

About the Author

Amanda McCrina is a writer, historian, and bookseller. She holds a degree in history and political science from the University of West Georgia. Her novels include Traitor, The Silent Unseen―named a School Library Journal Best Book of the Year 2022―and I'll Tell You No Lies, a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection. She lives outside Nashville, Tennessee.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR) (August 1, 2023)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 224 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0374390991
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0374390990
Reading age ‏ : ‎ 12 - 18 years
Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ HL720L
Grade level ‏ : ‎ 7 - 9
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 11.2 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.7 x 0.8 x 8.55 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #1,412,852 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #351 in Teen & Young Adult Military Historical Fiction
- #469 in Teen & Young Adult Historical Mysteries & Thrillers
- #2,614 in Teen & Young Adult Thrillers & Suspense (Books)

Customer Reviews:
4.4 16 ratings

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Videos

Help others learn more about this product by uploading a video!

Upload your video

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.

Amanda McCrina

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Amanda McCrina is a writer, historian, and bookseller. She holds a degree in history and political science from the University of West Georgia. Her novels include Traitor, The Silent Unseen—named a School Library Journal Best Book of the Year 2022—and I'll Tell You No Lies, a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection. She lives outside Nashville, Tennessee.

Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5

16 global ratings

2 star

0%

1 star

0%

How customer reviews and ratings work

Reviews with images

See all photos

Sort reviews by

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

themattsky

Highly recommended!

Reviewed in the United States on August 2, 2023

Verified Purchase

Amanda McCrina is one of the most exciting American authors of historical fiction for young readers. Her latest novel, "I'll Tell You No Lies," is as meticulously researched as "Traitor" and "The Silent Unseen." However, unlike McCrina's last two WWII-themed books, "I'll Tell You No Lies" is focalized by a teenage American and set in the USA in the mid-1950s. What I particularly appreciate about this gripping and VERY readable novel is how McCrina challenges numerous cliches associated with both WWII and the Cold War, as well as the stereotypical depiction of Eastern European history. While in most YA novels characters fall into two categories - victims or oppressors - McCrina demonstrates that history is way more complex. "I'll Tell You No Lies" is a must-read not only for those interested in US history, the Cold War, and WWII but also for those who want to understand the ongoing war in Ukraine better.

Helpful

Leah E Good

My Newest Favorite Historical Fiction Author

Reviewed in the United States on March 4, 2024

Verified Purchase

Summary:
Have you ever wondered what life looked like after WWII ended?

For eighteen year old airforce brat, Shelby, the war is a childhood memory that shaped her father into the man he is.

For twenty-two year old Ukrainian and Soviet defector, Maksym, the war still invades his dreams every night and it's consequences plague his every waking moment.

When coincidence (or is it something else) pushes the two together, trust might be the only humane choice ... or it might be the stupidest decision they could make.

My Thoughts:
If I didn't have other responsibilities, I would have read this book in one sitting. As it is, I read it in one day. The author is, without a doubt, my newest auto-buy author. And why do I like her books so much?

-Authentic interpersonal dynamics
- Amazing inner tention for inately empathetic characters that resist trusting people like it might kill them (because that's the reality of the world they live in)
-Gritty and real stories that paint in shades of gray, showing the personal and moral decisions people in impossible situations must grapple with without making the ultimate choice seem inevitable ... because it wasn't.

I could go on.

This particular book was a little less gritty than her others. Less violence. Less cursing. Fewer guns and more emotion. It felt a little more typically YA. But it still sucked me in and left my brain exploding when the pieces of the story I thought I was piecing together shattered apart ... and then came back together in a way that still made sense.

I also adored cameo appearances from characters in her other stories.
If you're going to give her books a try (please do), I recommend starting with The Silent Unseen.

Content
Romance: Some very, VERY mild levels of attraction. One descriptive french kiss (+ a brief memory of said kiss) and minor cuddling. This is present throughout the story but also not a focal point of the narrative.
Language: Some swearing, mostly in German, but some in English.
Violence: Nothing graphic. Severe injuries from barbed wire described non-graphically. Scars from past injuries are present. Previous, severe war trauma is mentioned and remembered but no details are given.
Religion: One passing reference to God (that I can remember)

Reviewed in the United States on September 16, 2023

I picked this book up and did not put it down until I finished it.

There are so many things to address, so I’ll start with this: McCrina brings a much needed voice/perspective to YA. WWII YA historical fiction exists, but there’s not a lot outside of that give or take a few books. Those narratives are also very limited to the western front, leaving a gaping hole of stories from the eastern front. McCrina highlights these stories throughout her works, this one included. However, the focus isn’t on WWII, but the aftermath of it and the Cold War. Again, another area that’s been overlooked in YA Historical fiction. With that being said, McCrina’s work is enlightening and invigorating. I think her storytelling is fantastic—she has a way of really making the historical aspects come to life.

Next, this book does not have a single slow moment in it. It starts off with a bang and keeps going. Because of that, it’s VERY engaging. Plus, as a reader, I was trying to figure everything out as Shelby (the MC) received information. Just as she was trying to connect the dots, I was trying to connect the dots. There is so much tension throughout the book as Shelby races to figure out what to believe and who to trust. I felt anxious for her! I had no idea what twists were awaiting me. Nothing about this book was predictable to me. She kept me guessing until the very last page.

In addition, I was highly intrigued by Maksym’s story. The one thing I wish about this book is that it had been longer. I would read a book about Maksym and his journey that led him to Rome, NY. Overall though, I enjoyed him as a character. He was in a similar situation as Shelby with trying to figure out who to trust and what to believe. I think what really spoke to his character was that he could’ve easily overpowered Shelby and killed her, but didn’t. Speaking of Shelby, I liked her too. She defied authorities to protect somebody that she believed was innocent. She is compassionate and courageous in her own right.

This isn’t a romance book, but does have a little bit of romance. Obviously, the tension is there and it’s very much an enemies-to-lovers situation. I thought that it was perfect for the story—not so much to be distracting, but just enough to add to it. This book is NOT a romance driven plot, so keep that in mind.

All in all, I’m a huge fan. One of the best books I’ve read this year. A solid 5/5 for me without a doubt. I look forward to reading more of McCrina’s works!

Thank you to the author, Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group, and NetGalley for this eARC!

Helpful

Return this item for free

Image Unavailable

Follow the author