This is a really unusual, yet beautifully written book that I felt really surprised by. It doesn't fit into an obvious 'dystopian, fantasy or adventure mould although it is definitely all of those things (as well as a book celebrating the faithfulness of dogs) . The themes of disinformation, political scheming, social control and corruption aren't the usual MG fare either. It's a thoughtful, unique, intriguing book that discerning young readers will find thought- provoking.

It is ironic reading this when it has been raining a while and our river is flooded, plus with a virus spreading and the mis-handling of that as well as a four-year negotiation fiasco by the Government, I felt a lot of empathy with the people of Praesto as their city slowly is submerged by rising floodwater.
Madame Suprema rules over the Senate and has to decide whether or not to close the floodgates which have not been closed within a generation’s lifetime. She can’t make that decision without expert advice, so calls upon the meteorologists to send her the weather forecast. A letter detailing this is duly delivered and the Suprema announces all is well. She then decides to leave the city, supposedly to visit those suffering further north. Her husband Timor, maid Gloria and dog Daisy inadvertently get left behind, which is lucky for them, but it sets in motion a string of events that eventually prove impossible to maintain.
This book defies a simple explanation. Just when Gloria was thinking a solution was obvious, the consequences were pointed out to her and each decision became more and more convoluted as she tied herself up in knots trying to do the right thing.
The role of the press is examined in spreading ‘Fake news’, power is abused, refugees are blamed for misfortunes, man’s interference in nature has consequences, all current concerns in our world.
A writer who straddles more than one age group, Geraldine McCaughrean has produced a book to appeal to many if you can keep up with events.

This review is for an advanced copy. It is a bit divided, but I have to be honest:

I so wanted to like this book. The premise intrigues, and I'd heard great things about the author. But the first third somewhat disappoints. It drags on, most of the characters and their actions feel false or even ridiculous, and the writing jumps around so much at times that I had to reread several parts more than once to find what I had missed, but I was none the wiser. And yet, I had to know what happened.

I am pleased to say that the book gets better the further you read. Particularly in the last third, the pace really picks up; the characters become much more rounded and real; and you become completely invested in the outcome and whether the loose ends are neatly tied up. There are moments of pure poetry, the plot works and the important messages of the book are made clear. It really rescues itself here.

Torn feelings aside, this is a story about truth and lies, about friends and foes, and about natural disasters and who really benefits (or suffers) from human action. It is based in the 20th century, but has important implications for our own: namely, that the press and politicians can't always be trusted and that people are still people, no matter where they come from. It's poignant, relevant and in turns funny and disturbing. If you can get past that first third, it really is worth it. A good YA read.

Thank you for the advance copy of this book. Once again, Geraldine McCaughrean delivers a fantastic novel. Her writing has a unique voice and I found myself at times concentrating more on the wonderful narrative voice than on the story, that's certainly not to say the story wasn't groping, it was. But in any book by this author the way she writes is as wonderful as the actual story. I shall certainly be recommending this book to our readers.

The writing in this was absolutely bonkers. Seriously, I've heard people rave about this author but until I'd read The Supreme Lie, I thought they were exaggerating. Spoiler alert, they weren*t.
I loved how this was mostly a story about dichotomies - friends and foes, truths and lies, and yet it was not afraid to walk the line between these topics.
The pacing was a bit off in the beginning but really got going toward the end and this will for sure not be my last novel by this author!

The Supreme Lie is a ripping adventure story that feels almost too real and not always in a good way. Set in a corrupt city, Gloria is the maid of the city's leader Madame Suprema, a natural disaster has led to the river flooding the surrounding farmland and it is against this event that the characters are set. Who will put their own needs above their neighbours, will the rich support those who are left with nothing and how will those outside and inside the city walls survive? Gloria is thrust into a world of policy and deception, but her underlying desire is to help the poorest people from the farmlands and the city. Setting out to support the poorest citizens, she means well but often ends up making the situation worse. With the water rising, hard decisions are made and their lives will change forever.

The country of Afalia has been hit by relentless rain leading to dangerous flooding. Gloria is a 15 year old maid to Madame Suprema, the secretive and dictatorial ruler of Afalia; she lives in the capital city Praesto and her only real friends are Daisy the dog, and Higgy, who works in a factory. When Madame Suprema runs away from the crisis, her husband world-weary husband Timor has to cover up her disappearance – and asks Gloria to pretend to be Madame Suprema. Much hilarity is the result, but with dark undercurrents of corruption, desperation, and most of all lies – which are supported and encouraged by the newspaper ‘The Voice’.

Meanwhile in the countryside, Heinz is a dog trying to find his Boy Clem, who has been flooded out of his home and is heading south as a refugee. In his search for his Boy, he travels with a dumb dog named MyCar, a pack of feral dogs and a horse. Heinz is desperate to avoid ‘Hound Death’ who because of the flooding is busy collecting souls of humans and animals.

These two narratives eventually weave together in this imaginative and highly original book. Gloria is a worthy heroine struggling to make the right decisions in her new position of power; her relationship with prickly Timor is comic gold but also complex. Heinz is everything a dog should be and more.

This is a thrilling adventure story with plenty of twists and turns, but it also has depth and breadth with an underlying social and political commentary on greed, corruption, manipulation, exploitation and mobs --- and also courage and the willingness to stand up for what is right and true.

I am a huge fan of Geraldine McCaughrean’s writing (Stop the Train is my family’s all-time favourite shared book – we listened to it as a family 12 years ago and it still regularly comes up in conversation). Her vivid imagery and clever use of unusual details creates unforgettable characters, and the understated and matter-of-fact narration of devastating events only increases the emotional punch they carry.

As I reached the last few pages of the book, I felt myself tearing up because the journey Geraldine McCaughrean was taking me on was coming to an end. The Supreme Lie is truly an extraordinary book which I will be recommending to students from Year 7 up – and to anyone else who enjoys a great read.

This cover had me clicking request quickly! The title is intriguing and begged reading.
Diving in, the book was a slow start, introducing the characters and fictional land known as Afalia. The Supreme Leader wears a veil to cover her face so no one knows what she looks like. She comes across as selfish and cruel. The land is in danger from the constant rain and other towns and cities are flooding and wanting help from Afalia. Determined to escape, she boards a train.

Left behind are her husband and maid Gloria. These two will need to work together, conspire and lie to ensure the safety of Afalia and its people.

The Supreme Lie comes in the form of a secret kept from everyone!

The unique and beautifully written tale is brilliant for older readers- full of drama, political intrigue, adventure and corruption, this is one to dive into. It kept me reading late into the night as I couldn't put it down. At times I was shocked, surprised, horrified and sad. At others I laughed, felt a happy ending was in sight and hopeful.

A brilliant book for Yr 6 and above- I wouldn't give it to anyone younger- there are some tricky scenes to navigate.

Fantastic book!

McCaughrean writes across the spectrum, for children, teens, young adults and those of us who no longer belong in this category; it's one of the many reasons I admire her as a seasoned and skilled writer. "The Supreme Lie" fits comfortably somewhere within the YA bracket. In terms of genre, however, I'm at a loss. Drama, certainly, with splashes of fantasy, dystopia, political intrigue and adventure. It feels art deco in period but simultaneously very modern. I've found this with McCaughrean in the past - she frequently straddles genres and styles with impressive grace.

In essence, the country's leader 'does a bunk' when unprecedented floods bring chaos to a region. To hide the leader's cowardice, her husband hatches a plot to pretend the leader is still present by dressing up the 15 year old maid, Gloria. As you can imagine, the situation gets pretty fraught. It's quite Shakespearean - think Twelfth Night" or "Measure for Measure."

Having read other reviews - after finishing the book - I can see some readers have criticised McCaughrean for being a little bizarre or far-fetched. First, the bizarre is a characteristic I always enjoy in McCaughrean's work. In "The Supreme Lie," we are often treated to the perspective of Heinz, a loyal dog. His adventure, trials and worries during the flood are expressed through his internal monologue. It's beautiful - not bizarre - to see canine loyalty given so much page. In terms of being far-fetched... pffft. I'd argue that having watched the last American administration coupled with having experienced the handling of 2020-2021 (stares hard at 10 Downing Street). McCaughrean has sculptured a plausible political landscape. Scheming public servants, environmental crisis, mass media scare-mongering, biased news reporting, power grabbiness and dis/mis-information: what's far-fetched about that?!

Overall, it's funny and dark. Often, for young people such as Gloria, the solutions to real world issues appear simple. McCaughrean illuminates that this isn't the case but that decisions made with a strong moral compass will always be preferable to those steered by corruption.

As always from Geraldine McCaughrean, this is an absolutely fantastic adventure. Set in a fictional country facing a disastrous flood, this is a story about power and corruption and the manipulation of the press to suit the needs of those in power, yet at the very heart it is a story about ordinary people (and dogs) becoming unlikely heroes.

I read this in one sitting and cannot wait to stock it in the school library - this is one to fly off the shelves

It took me a little while to get into this, but I love this author and soon found myself loving this book. She has a quirky style all of her own and I loved the way she builds her world and the people in it. I can see it being a brilliant film.

Madame Suprema, the head of Afalia runs away when the land is in danger of flooding, to avoid the consequences. To cover up her disappearance, Gloria her 15 year old maid takes her place, a feat accomplished since the leader hasn't shown her face in years, hiding behind a veil.

I adore fish out of water situations. Not only does Gloria have to impersonate someone else, but she has the fate of her country in her hands and shady politics to deal with. The antithesis of her small town roots with the powerful woman she must portray is depicted quite well. The evolution of the character and her eyes opening to 'how the world really works' is done quite well too. Her 'simple' questions spark your pondering of societal issues and how life should be.

The narrative is quirky and noir and at the same time with inventive flourishes like pages from the Afalian newspaper between chapters and the thoughts of dogs! Peppered with poignant descriptions and quite imaginative figurative speech for example, "she could feel herself shrinking as spinach does from cooking".

I began wishing the book would concentrate more on Gloria acting as Suprema and less on other stuff. The dog thing dragged a little in the 1st half of the book, even though it was an original way to see what was really happening in the rest of the country.

Commenting on the situation of there being haves and have-nots and the glaring differences between them. The 'powerful" and the 'powerless'. How we wield power says a lot about our character, what kind of people we are. How a crisis can bring out the best or the worst in people. How resilient people can be.

Shocking and twisty, this is a seemingly simple but actually multilayered examination of human nature and how dark it and politics can be, but still full of hopeful messages that people can and want to make a difference.

An adventure story of a fictional land, a flood, a fantastic dog, and some villainous , and some heroic characters. Totally and utterly bonkers, with some real page turning writing.

I was not sure what to expect from this book, but by the end I really enjoyed it.

Gloria is maid to the Head of State Madam Suprema, but when a flood comes which threatens the county Madam Suprema runs away and Gloria finds herself pretending to be her.

All areas of the country are affected but most of the action takes place in the main city.

The Supreme Lie looks at how people look at others that they see as different from them and how people of power can feed the fear.

A the end you are asking questioning what you know about what you hear and read and what the truth actually is.

Gloria, a simple maid, finds herself impersonating Madame Suprema, the head of state during a major flood. Gloria and Timor, the suprema’s husband do not know where she is and panic when decisions need to be made over the state of emergency. Gloria tries to do her best for “her” people but she soon finds out that politics is both hard and corrupt.

This is not the usual sort of book I would pick up but I was really rather gripped by the whole story. I thoroughly enjoyed it, the world that was created and the story telling was so well done.

Genre: Young Adult | Dystopian | Fiction

Release Date: Expected 15th April 2021



The Suprema of Afalia has fled the city. The entire city of Praesto is in imminent danger of flooding and destruction, and now their leader is gone. Left behind is her maid, her husband and her dog - and they may be the only ones who know the situation deeply enough to try and fix it. Convinced by Madame Supremas husband, her maid Gloria agrees to wear the Veil of the Suprema and pose as their leader - the city needs to believe they have a leader if they have any hope of surviving.

Soon, the evacuation begins - pets are rounded up in the streets, the children are sent to safer places, businesses are closed and the politicans continue to do as they always have - lie. For Gloria, the answers are simple - do the right thing for the people. But she hasn't accounted for how just how corrupt and twisted the systems put in place to protect her really are.

This book is technically Young Adult fiction, but The Supreme Lie covers so much that it's almost impossible to categorize. Just a teenager herself, Gloria is forced very quickly into a world she had no idea existed and the fate of everybody is very much in her hands. Her eyes are opened to the horrors and manipulations of the world she lives in and it's up to her to fix it.

As we follow her journey as the new Suprema, we also get a first hand view of the broken city she is trying to protect through the eyes of a dog who lives in it's streets and sees everything. The narration was so uniquely engaging and vivid - each voice so distinct.


Sharply witty, dark and wickedly clever - this was an uncomfortable close examination of human nature and definitely felt a little too real, with thinly veiled parallells to the world we are living in and the fictional world Gloria calls home.


RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐


Thank you to Geraldine McCaughrean and Usbourne Publishing for an ARC in return for an honest review.

The environmental themes of this book make it one that will appeal to a hugely diverse YA audience. Add in the mystery of a stand in head of state and so much action, this will captivate you from page 1.

The Supreme Lie is a witty attack on the political era of Fake News perpetuated by governments to deceive their populace. In Afalia all is not what it seems. As climate disaster strikes, the floodwaters rise and the everyday lives of the people are upturned as they struggle to safe their city. However, the Supreme ruler Madame Suprema has fled leaving Afalia without their all powerful figurehead - step in Gloria. McCaughrean has created a wonderful world exposing the ripple effect of one 'white lie'. The examination of the motivations behind mistruth for a noble purpose and a deliberate falsehood for personal gain are beautifully juxtaposed. The gentle exposure of the faith placed in those in positions of power is a timely reminder that we should all question the motivations of our Heads of State and really examine what we believe to be right. Brilliant