An engaging read for boys grades 5-8

Liar and Spy by Rebecca Stead

Stead, R. (2012).

Stead, R. (2012). Liar & spy. New York, NY: Wendy Lamb Books. Seventh grader Georges’ life is in upheaval. His family is moving from their wonderful home to a Brooklyn apartment because they are struggling financially. He is very close to his mother, but she’s working extra shifts to help out while his father looks for freelance architecture work. He is a target of the school bully, Dallas, and feels adrift and friendless in junior high.

Then he meets Safer, another resident of his Brooklyn apartment building, who recruits him as a fellow spy to track the comings and goings of a mysterious Mr. X, another resident of the apartment building. Safer and Georges become friends, but Safer has issues of his own which eventually complicate their friendship. However, Georges’ life as a spy has given him a new edge on how to handle a bully and at last, gain the upper hand.

I enjoyed this book, though at times, I found the friendship between Georges and Safer difficult to relate to. However, Stead adds a plot twist with the character of the mother, which I found quite interesting and clever. To describe it would give away the surprise. Liar and Spy would most likely appeal to male students in grades 5 to 8.

#friendship #juniorhigh #youngadultfiction