Scan barcode
A review by kelleemoye
Liar & Spy by Rebecca Stead
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...