Scan barcode
kristenremenar's review against another edition
4.0
This book is for the kid who isn't looking for high-fantasy adventure, who doesn't want Diary of a Wimpy Kid, who doesn't need an action figure or a cartoon character to sell him on a book. "Liar & Spy" is more thoughtful, more real. It's for kids who would love to be part of the blue dot group, a conglomeration of those who don't fit elsewhere. I kept picking this one up and putting it down - for me it wasn't a page-turner - but it was still really good.
liketheday's review against another edition
3.0
There's spying done, of course, and some intrigue about a mysterious neighbor, but there's also quite a bit about being a nerd at school and losing a best friend as well. It's super cute, if a little obvious in places and a little silly in others, just as a good kids book usually is.
read more...
read more...
mbrandmaier's review against another edition
4.0
Excellent, simply excellent. Georges learns that it is ok to focus on the dots as well as the bigger picture.
gbliss's review against another edition
2.0
A little on the Too Cute side of things. A little too much in the ABC After School Special vein: Annoyingly precious and precocious children mature beyond their years in (too) many ways but seriously need of the simple moral lesson at the heart of the story. The nightly parent-to-child child-to-parent messages with scrabble tiles...well that about says it all now doesn't it?
amelia_herring's review against another edition
4.0
Another wonderful book by Stead. Very different from her Newbery-winning book When You Reach Me, Liar and Spy still carries her hallmark of great character development. Georges moves into an apartment building in Brooklyn, where he meets neighbor Safer. The two begin spying on their neighbor, as Safer suspects that the elusive Mr. X is hiding something. The story unfolds as the reader uncovers the truth, not about Mr. X, but about Safer's and Georges' lives.
There isn't too much in the way of plot here; the story is very much character-based. It is still a page-turner, though, and filled with emotion. Great for fans of Stead, as well as fans of other character-driven books like Okay for Now. Ages 9-14.
There isn't too much in the way of plot here; the story is very much character-based. It is still a page-turner, though, and filled with emotion. Great for fans of Stead, as well as fans of other character-driven books like Okay for Now. Ages 9-14.
cimorene1558's review against another edition
5.0
Excellent book! Not quite as good as "When You Reach Me", but pretty good all the same. Funny and touching and charming and odd.
kelleemoye's review against another edition
4.0
Georges doesn't really enjoy school, because even his ex-best friend doesn't really associate with him. On top of that, his family has had to sell their home and move to an apartment because his architecture dad lost his job meaning his mother is always at the hospital working doubles. All Georges wants right now is something good to happen (and maybe a distraction) and Safer is exactly what the doctor ordered. Safer, a 12 year old home schooled boy who lives in his new apartment complex, is the founder of the Spy Club and it is now up to Georges and Safer to find out what is really going on in the apartment. The reader will also want to find out what happens to Georges at school where the bullying is just getting out of control.
This book is a great book of friendship, family and a proclamation that being different doesn't mean you have to be alone.
Rebecca Stead is a master at telling stories that are not what they seem at the beginning. Just like When You Reach Me, Liar & Spy is a mystery where clues are revealed slowly throughout the book.
Also, if you follow my reviews you know I love when art is integrated in a book and Rebecca Stead does it beautifully in this one. Georges was named after George Seurat because his mother loves Seurat's Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte (they even have a print of it hung up in their living room). She says that we are all just dots of a bigger, beautiful picture just liked Seurat's artwork. The Seaurat print (or Sir Ott as Georges says) becomes a character in itself when it becomes a confidant of Georges on nights when he is home alone.
"I think of all those thousands of dots Seurat used to paint the picture. I think about how if you stand back from the painting, you can see the people, the green grass and the cute monkey on a leash, but if you get closer, the monkey kind of dissolves right in front of your eyes. Like Mom says, life is a million different dots making one gigantic picture. And maybe the big picture is nice, maybe it's amazing, but if you're standing with your face pressed up against a bunch of black dots, it's really hard to tell."
Oh, and I truly love this character- Bob English Who Draws- in the book. He is Georges science partner and is quite the character. His spelling ideas are very interesting...
This book is a great book of friendship, family and a proclamation that being different doesn't mean you have to be alone.
Rebecca Stead is a master at telling stories that are not what they seem at the beginning. Just like When You Reach Me, Liar & Spy is a mystery where clues are revealed slowly throughout the book.
Also, if you follow my reviews you know I love when art is integrated in a book and Rebecca Stead does it beautifully in this one. Georges was named after George Seurat because his mother loves Seurat's Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte (they even have a print of it hung up in their living room). She says that we are all just dots of a bigger, beautiful picture just liked Seurat's artwork. The Seaurat print (or Sir Ott as Georges says) becomes a character in itself when it becomes a confidant of Georges on nights when he is home alone.
"I think of all those thousands of dots Seurat used to paint the picture. I think about how if you stand back from the painting, you can see the people, the green grass and the cute monkey on a leash, but if you get closer, the monkey kind of dissolves right in front of your eyes. Like Mom says, life is a million different dots making one gigantic picture. And maybe the big picture is nice, maybe it's amazing, but if you're standing with your face pressed up against a bunch of black dots, it's really hard to tell."
Oh, and I truly love this character- Bob English Who Draws- in the book. He is Georges science partner and is quite the character. His spelling ideas are very interesting...
brandypainter's review against another edition
5.0
Originally posted at Random Musings of a Bibliophile.
Rebecca Stead won the 2010 Newbery for [b:When You Reach Me|5310515|When You Reach Me|Rebecca Stead|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1320395542s/5310515.jpg|6608018] which has already become a beloved favorite of many. Needless to say excitement and expectation are running high about the release of her latest novel Liar & Spy. People will not be disappointed. In fact, I think Liar and Spy is even better.
Georges is a character. One with voice and personality, that jumps off the page and invades your brain. He is one of those quiet characters who you can recognize in people you know. He is not slaying dragons. He is not surviving the apocalypse. He is not fighting for his life. He is a kid trying to survive 7th grade and all its atrocities. His voice is exactly the right tone for a 7th grader too. He is wise and mature at times, sounding older than his years. He is scared and unsure at others, sounding younger than his years. His sarcasm is there through it all. He is genuine. There s no other word to describe it.
Georges is not alone though, he comes with a cast of secondary characters as eager to bounce off the pages as he is. Safer spends his days spying, playing Scrabble, and watching parrots. Candy is obsessed with all kinds of sweets, except the orange flavored ones, and is an expert on seasonal varieties. Bob English who Draws carries a bag of super fine Sharpies around with him and is attempting to change the spelling rules of the English language (he's a fan of Ben Franklin). Typing it I feel like I am making them sound quirky, and I suppose they are, but it is a genuine quirkiness, a quirkiness that in no way overwhelms who they are. It is just one small part of them.
Georges also has parents who love him and are interested in his life. He is age appropriately conflicted about this, bouncing between savoring it and scoffing at it. His father has been laid off and has started his own business. To compensate his mother, an ICU nurse, is working a lot of double shifts. It is understandable that they have not noticed exactly how harassed Georges is at school, despite their love and care for him. Georges has real kid problems that readers can identify with.
I appreciated the way the bullying situation was addressed by Stead as well. The sufferings of Georges are not anything that most middle school students haven't been forced to endure at some point. That doesn't make them any more bearable or less wrong. This point was made without being hammered at the reader. I also appreciated how the situation resolved. It felt realistic and possible and didn't need to be dramatic.
Then there is the spying and the mystery of Mr. X, which I will say little about, but fans of [b:From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs Basil E. Frankweiler|3980|From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs Basil E. Frankweiler|E.L. Konigsburg|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1327784751s/3980.jpg|1384549] will enjoy this I think. It is spying exactly as kids would do it.
Rebecca Stead has won my heart forever and all eternity for writing a MG novel with depth, wisdom, heart, soul, and snark all contained in less than 200 pages. Yes, it can be done. The writing in this is top notch. I bookmarked a ton of pages. I could share some amazing passages but feel that context is required to fully grasp their brilliance. I will just share one, my favorite quote from the whole book , spoken by Safer: Boredom is what happens to people who have no control over their minds.
Rebecca Stead won the 2010 Newbery for [b:When You Reach Me|5310515|When You Reach Me|Rebecca Stead|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1320395542s/5310515.jpg|6608018] which has already become a beloved favorite of many. Needless to say excitement and expectation are running high about the release of her latest novel Liar & Spy. People will not be disappointed. In fact, I think Liar and Spy is even better.
Georges is a character. One with voice and personality, that jumps off the page and invades your brain. He is one of those quiet characters who you can recognize in people you know. He is not slaying dragons. He is not surviving the apocalypse. He is not fighting for his life. He is a kid trying to survive 7th grade and all its atrocities. His voice is exactly the right tone for a 7th grader too. He is wise and mature at times, sounding older than his years. He is scared and unsure at others, sounding younger than his years. His sarcasm is there through it all. He is genuine. There s no other word to describe it.
Georges is not alone though, he comes with a cast of secondary characters as eager to bounce off the pages as he is. Safer spends his days spying, playing Scrabble, and watching parrots. Candy is obsessed with all kinds of sweets, except the orange flavored ones, and is an expert on seasonal varieties. Bob English who Draws carries a bag of super fine Sharpies around with him and is attempting to change the spelling rules of the English language (he's a fan of Ben Franklin). Typing it I feel like I am making them sound quirky, and I suppose they are, but it is a genuine quirkiness, a quirkiness that in no way overwhelms who they are. It is just one small part of them.
Georges also has parents who love him and are interested in his life. He is age appropriately conflicted about this, bouncing between savoring it and scoffing at it. His father has been laid off and has started his own business. To compensate his mother, an ICU nurse, is working a lot of double shifts. It is understandable that they have not noticed exactly how harassed Georges is at school, despite their love and care for him. Georges has real kid problems that readers can identify with.
I appreciated the way the bullying situation was addressed by Stead as well. The sufferings of Georges are not anything that most middle school students haven't been forced to endure at some point. That doesn't make them any more bearable or less wrong. This point was made without being hammered at the reader. I also appreciated how the situation resolved. It felt realistic and possible and didn't need to be dramatic.
Then there is the spying and the mystery of Mr. X, which I will say little about, but fans of [b:From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs Basil E. Frankweiler|3980|From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs Basil E. Frankweiler|E.L. Konigsburg|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1327784751s/3980.jpg|1384549] will enjoy this I think. It is spying exactly as kids would do it.
Rebecca Stead has won my heart forever and all eternity for writing a MG novel with depth, wisdom, heart, soul, and snark all contained in less than 200 pages. Yes, it can be done. The writing in this is top notch. I bookmarked a ton of pages. I could share some amazing passages but feel that context is required to fully grasp their brilliance. I will just share one, my favorite quote from the whole book , spoken by Safer: Boredom is what happens to people who have no control over their minds.
effiekaradimitri's review against another edition
3.0
Billed as a mystery, but that’s not at all the case…. Eh