From the Newbery Medal–winning author of When You Reach Me
When Georges moves into a Brooklyn apartment building, he meets Safer, a twelve-year-old coffee-drinking loner and self-appointed spy. Georges becomes Safer’s first spy club recruit. His assignment? Tracking the mysterious Mr X, who lives in the apartment upstairs. But as Safer becomes more demanding, Georges starts to wonder: how far is too far to go for your only friend?
Rebecca Stead’s characters are delightfully engaging, and she has woven intricate ideas into a beautiful story. Liar & Spy is an inspired, often-funny novel for middle grade kids about friendship, fears, bullying and how to deal with your worries. It will keep readers guessing until the very end.
About the Author
Rebecca Stead has spent her whole life on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, the setting for her novel When You Reach Me (Wendy Lamb/Random House). For sixth-grader Miranda, the possibilities in that neighborhood seem at first to contract--the day her best friend Sal gets punched by a stranger and stops spending time with her--and then to stretch boundlessly when she begins to make new friends, especially Marcus, and to receive mysterious notes from someone who seems to know her future. On Monday, the book won the 2010 Newbery Medal.
Industry Reviews
`In this taut novel, every word, every sentence, has meaning and substance.' * New York Times Book Review *
`It is the true gift of the storyteller to take such age old themes and issues and shine a light on them in such a way that it appears brand new.' * Magpies *
'Secrets and lies are crafted and planted adeptly...This original story resembles the dots in a pointillist painting, where placement of colours tricks the eye into seeing other colours, and a true picture can be seen only from farther way.' * Weekend Australian *
'Wise and wry...a well-written story. Recommended.' * Herald Sun *
'Exactly what I would have wanted to read in my early teens. It feels sophisticated and clever and knowing without being too grown-up and dark.' * Guardian *
'Part coming-of-age tale, part mystery...A charmingly told story that has a message of hope and endurance.' * Telegraph *
'This intelligent novel is a joy to read.' * Independent *
'A skillful tale...Despite its light touch, it contains important themes about the truths we tell ourselves.' * Sunday Times *