Liar & Spy by Rebecca Stead

Bibliographic Information

Stead, R. (2012). Liar & Spy. New York, NY: Random House Children's Books, Inc. ISBN: 9780385737432.

Plot Summary

Georges is at a tough spot in his life. He doesn't have any friends, his family just sold their house because his dad's unemployed, and his mom spends all her time at the hospital. To make things worse, Georges is targeted by the school bullies due to his name and the fact that he accidentally knocked one of them over in gym class. When he answers a cryptic note in his apartment building's laundry room, he meets Safer and Candy, a pair of homeschooled siblings who spy on the nefarious Mr. X, Georges's upstairs neighbor. But not everyone or everything in this story is what it seems. Eventually the reader will be questioning who is the spy and who is the liar after all.

Review

One of the main themes in this book is about overcoming your fears and dealing with the truth. Georges does just that by telling his father what's going on with the bullying at his school. However, he also tries, successfully, to solve the problem himself by creating alliances with the other outcast kids. There's also an important conversation about why nice kids start hanging out with bullies. Tweens who feel abandoned by former friends will find this book reassuring.