Liar & Spy (review)
Deborah Stevenson · Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books./Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books · 2012
Reviewed by: Liar & Spy Deborah Stevenson Stead, Rebecca . Liar & Spy. Lamb, 2012. [208p]. Library ed. ISBN 978-0-385-90665-4 $18.99 Trade ed. ISBN 978-0-385-73743-2 $15.99 E-book ed. ISBN 978-0-375-89953-9 $10.99 Reviewed from galleys R* Gr. 5-7. There are many changes in the life of Georges, whose father lost his job and whose family has therefore moved to a new apartment, while his mother works double shifts at the hospital and hardly sees her family. Georges quickly gets to know Safer, a boy who lives upstairs, and finds himself involved, whether he likes it or not, with Safer's favorite pastime: spying on the rest of the building. At school, Georges is an outsider often bullied by the popular kids, and it looks like the abuse is going to come to a head soon in a legendary science project, whose results are commonly believed to foretell your destiny. Stead, author of the Newbery winner When You Reach Me (BCCB 9/09), remains both a smooth, engaging stylist and a master craftsman, who deftly fits original plot pieces together into a cohesive but often surprising whole. Both Safer and Georges, for instance, are hiding secrets, and the book drops occasional hints that there is more to their stories. That just adds to their appeal as characters, however, which is already considerable; in fact, the book overall is gifted with inimitable personalities, such as Safer's sweets-mad little sister, Candy, and Georges' quirky deskmate and gradual friend, Bob English Who Draws. The story also marshals those characters in a couple of glorious and inspiringly creative victories for the underdogs at school, in keeping with its general championing of thinking outside the box. Readers will sympathize with Georges and Safer as they negotiate various familiar obstacles, but it's the celebration that will leave them exultant. [End Page 47] Copyright © 2012 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois