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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
nsusdorf's review against another edition
4.0
Wow! Beautiful book about friendship and family and dealing with all the tough stuff life has to throw at you in middle school: former friends, bullies, moving, parents who work too much (and not enough), and trying to find your identity.
pussinbooks's review against another edition
2.0
Georges and his parents have just moved into a new apartment after losing their house when his dad lost his job. Mom works double shifts at the hospital where she is a nurse, while Dad spends nights trying to wrangle up clients for his upstart architecture business. Georges doesn't have any friends at school. The cool kids make fun of the spelling of his name by calling him Gorgeous. His best friend has ditched him for the cool kids, but Georges lets everything roll off his back. Mom tells him to look at the bigger picture, and that's what he does.
When Georges gets roped into joining the Spy Club run by a weird kid named Safer, he surprises himself by lying to his father about the existence of Spy Club while taking lessons from Safer on how to be a good spy that involve breaking and entering. Safer and his family are like no one he has ever met. Safer and his little sister Candy are home schooled, they take turns cooking dinner for their parents and older brother Pigeon (home schooled until he recently chose to go to school), and don't worry about social rules like what constitutes a cool kid. In fact, they're happy to throw rules out and create their own.
Georges navigates the confusing world of being Safer's friend and the monotonous world of school until both are turned inside out. Georges is happy to rewrite the rules at school with the help of some other loners and unpopular kids. But when something crucial about Spy Club is revealed, he questions his friendship with Safer and his own guilt when it comes to keeping secrets.
Liar & Spy was a solid 4-star book until the two reveals at the end, which shot the book down to a 2-star. The characters are fun and quirky, the city feels like home in Stead's hands, and the story is full of everyday joy and laughter that paint the picture of a full life. All was well until I found out I was being lied to. The big lie wasn't done in a clever way, leaving clues for the reader. It was just a huge lie that revealed a character weakness too far into the story to be compelling. Instead, it felt like a betrayal, and as a result I ended up liking neither Georges nor Safer. I would rename this book Lying Coward & That Little Jerk Upstairs were I being brutally honest.
Read this book for the funny characters, the lessons in science and friendship at Georges' school, and the interesting family in Safer's household. Just be aware that you're being lied to, and you won't have much time to sympathize with the characters before you reach the final page.
When Georges gets roped into joining the Spy Club run by a weird kid named Safer, he surprises himself by lying to his father about the existence of Spy Club while taking lessons from Safer on how to be a good spy that involve breaking and entering. Safer and his family are like no one he has ever met. Safer and his little sister Candy are home schooled, they take turns cooking dinner for their parents and older brother Pigeon (home schooled until he recently chose to go to school), and don't worry about social rules like what constitutes a cool kid. In fact, they're happy to throw rules out and create their own.
Georges navigates the confusing world of being Safer's friend and the monotonous world of school until both are turned inside out. Georges is happy to rewrite the rules at school with the help of some other loners and unpopular kids. But when something crucial about Spy Club is revealed, he questions his friendship with Safer and his own guilt when it comes to keeping secrets.
Liar & Spy was a solid 4-star book until the two reveals at the end, which shot the book down to a 2-star. The characters are fun and quirky, the city feels like home in Stead's hands, and the story is full of everyday joy and laughter that paint the picture of a full life. All was well until I found out I was being lied to. The big lie wasn't done in a clever way, leaving clues for the reader. It was just a huge lie that revealed a character weakness too far into the story to be compelling. Instead, it felt like a betrayal, and as a result I ended up liking neither Georges nor Safer. I would rename this book Lying Coward & That Little Jerk Upstairs were I being brutally honest.
Read this book for the funny characters, the lessons in science and friendship at Georges' school, and the interesting family in Safer's household. Just be aware that you're being lied to, and you won't have much time to sympathize with the characters before you reach the final page.