A few weeks ago, I posted the nominees and winners of the Children’s Choice Book Awards for 2013. Liar and Spy by Rebecca Stead made the Fifth To Sixth Grade Finalists list, and after finishing the novel, I can understand why.
The Premise
Georges, the s is silent, struggles with typical middle school issues, such as annoying bullies and the persistent feeling that he doesn’t fit in anywhere. His father, an architect, has recently lost his job, and Georges and his parents have moved to an apartment in Brooklyn. There Georges meets Safer, a boy his age who is unique in many ways, especially because he’s a self-proclaimed spy. Safer wants Georges to help him with a “mission”.
Why It’s So Good
Liar and Spy pulls you in with quirky characters and snappy dialogue. Here’s a snippet. In this scene, Safer, the “spy”, is teaching Georges how to break into an apartment using a credit card.
“You’ve done this before?” I guess I finally know how Safer left me that note under my pillow.
Safer looks at me scornfully. “Of course.”
Maybe Safer has no conscience at all.
“I’m not sure we should do this,” I say. Because I’m sure we shouldn’t do this.
“It’s normal to be a little scared, Georges.”
“I’m not scared.” Though it has crossed my mind that a person could go to jail for the kind of thing that Safer is planning.
Besides wit, Liar and Spy also has depth. The novel includes thoughtful commentary on life and adversity, as well as a few motifs. For example, throughout the book, Georges mentions a print by Georges Seurat, his namesake, that hangs in his living room. Georges relates the tiny little dots of the pointillist painting to events in his life; they all add up to create a bigger picture. There is good stuff going on, and Stead packs a few surprises into the ending that will have you thinking about the book long after you close the cover.
Liar and Spy is great summer reading for the older elementary / middle school crowd. My 13-year-old enjoyed it and agreed with me that it was like “John Green for younger readers”. (Meaning it has the same intelligence and wit without the young adult content.) On our recent road trip, my family started listening to Stead’s best-selling novel, When You Reach Me. My eleven year old has read it and says it’s awesome. Unfortunately, I don’t like the narrator of the audio book (too whiny) and the story bounces around a lot. I might finish it in “traditional” form.
Have you read Liar and Spy or any other of Stead’s novels? Can you share another middle grade summer reading recommendation?
Thanks for sharing!
Julia
