Book: Liar and Spy
Author: Rebecca Stead
Publisher: Wendy Lamb Books
Pages: 192
Grade Level: 5th Grade and up
Rating: 5 Stars
Life isn’t easy for Georges. His name lends itself to unpleasant
nicknames (like “Gorgeous”) , his father just lost his job so his mother is
forced to work extra shifts as a nurse and he must move from his home to a
smaller apartment in Brooklyn. While making friends was never easy for Georges,
he befriends a boy in his new building, Safer, who is an excellent spy and has
a “mission” to find out what another neighbor, Mr. X, is mysteriously up to. He
recruits Georges as an assistant, and Georges begins a wild ride of deceit,
secrets and truths that may ruin their new found friendship forever.
This book is written so well that you become so engrossed in the
mystery that you can’t put it down until you are finished. Stead is the master
of quirky writing, and even though you are never sure what will happen next,
everything comes together perfectly in the end, with a twist I am sure you didn’t
see coming! It is an excellent book choice for reluctant readers and definitely
a “boy book”, though I am sure many girls will enjoy it as well!
