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A review by shighley
My Brother Is a Big, Fat Liar by Lisa Papademetriou, James Patterson
3.0
Some parts of this book were imaginative and funny, but too often I felt like Patterson was writing down to kids. Some of the stereotypes were too... stereotypical. It would be possible for students to read this book without reading the first two, narrated by Rafe. I listened to this on CD, which was relatively easy to follow. The drawings are available on the final CD; I didn't think they were as essential to the story as they were on the first two in the series.
Sometimes I got roped into believing Georgia's descriptions of what she said or how she reacted, before she revealed it really didn't happen that way. The scenes with the Lizard were very funny. An adult can see some of these as satirical, but I don't know how it will come across to students.
I liked the fact that the bullies, "the princesses", were not big, ugly students. But, I can't believe that all of the things they said and did would go unchecked in a school. I think it's true that sometimes younger siblings are unfairly compared to older brothers and sisters. I liked Georgia's mom stepping in when staff members were not fair to her daughter, but I would think in real life she would have said something sooner. However, I felt the treatment of Dottie was very insensitive. When Georgia's mom was going to tell her something in private, I thought she was going to reveal that Dottie was suffering from dementia or Alzheimer's. It wasn't fun to make fun of her randomness.
I liked the way that it wasn't revealed at first that Georgia had a slight handicap. I didn't feel the other big reveal about her background was really necessary.
Ultimately, though, this book is aimed at kids and getting them to read. I'm sure Patterson would approve of discussions comparing the book to real life I was disappointed that there wasn't more about Donatello; instead, all educators were portrayed as morons, including the psychologist. But, how could you not like a book where the main character professes a love for reading. Still can't believe Rafe would steal The Book Thief, though!
Sometimes I got roped into believing Georgia's descriptions of what she said or how she reacted, before she revealed it really didn't happen that way. The scenes with the Lizard were very funny. An adult can see some of these as satirical, but I don't know how it will come across to students.
I liked the fact that the bullies, "the princesses", were not big, ugly students. But, I can't believe that all of the things they said and did would go unchecked in a school. I think it's true that sometimes younger siblings are unfairly compared to older brothers and sisters. I liked Georgia's mom stepping in when staff members were not fair to her daughter, but I would think in real life she would have said something sooner. However, I felt the treatment of Dottie was very insensitive. When Georgia's mom was going to tell her something in private, I thought she was going to reveal that Dottie was suffering from dementia or Alzheimer's. It wasn't fun to make fun of her randomness.
I liked the way that it wasn't revealed at first that Georgia had a slight handicap. I didn't feel the other big reveal about her background was really necessary.
Ultimately, though, this book is aimed at kids and getting them to read. I'm sure Patterson would approve of discussions comparing the book to real life I was disappointed that there wasn't more about Donatello; instead, all educators were portrayed as morons, including the psychologist. But, how could you not like a book where the main character professes a love for reading. Still can't believe Rafe would steal The Book Thief, though!