Liar Liar Pants on Fire

Rebecca Stead's Liar & Spy is another one of those books that has been sitting on my classroom shelf that I would recommend to students but had never read.  I bought it at last years book fair because I knew Rebecca Stead from reading When You Reach Me.  I just assumed that Liar & Spy would also be good. 

I was....mostly right.  I loved When You Reach Me, mostly because I made a ton of connections to that book.  Liar & Spy is just as engaging, the story is just as well written, and it is full of it's own quirks (something I love in a book).  I did really enjoy Liar & Spy, I just didn't love it as much.  

As the title suggests the book contains both a liar and a spy.  You find out who the spy is fairly early in the book but you have to read to the end to discover who's the liar.  Of course I'm not going to give away that juicy tidbit here.  

Liar & Spy is the story of young Georges (yes his name has an s at the end.  Want to know why?  Read the book) as he learns to navigate middle school in the midst of his family's move and a sharp increase in the number of hours worked by his mother.  Georges makes new friends in his building and discovers a new way to cope at school. He learns that maybe having a silent s at the end of your name isn't such a bad thing.  Quirks give character.   Mixed in is a delightful blend of quirky characters.   Parents who don't name their children until they are two-so that the children can show who they are before getting a name, students who believe the taste bud test in science class will deliver their destiny, and so many more.  

I was right to recommend this book to my students, it is definitely a good read.  Phew.  How would I have redeemed myself if it turned out to be terrible?  

Embracing your quirks...that's kids stuff.