An instant New York Times bestseller, Liar & Spy is a story about games and friendship. Seventh-grader Georges moves into a Brooklyn apartment building and meets Safer, a twelve-year-old self-appointed spy. Georges becomes Safer's first spy recruit. His assignment? Tracking the mysterious Mr. X, who lives in the apartment upstairs. But as Safer becomes more demanding, Georges starts to wonder: How far is too far to go for your only friend?
Like Stead's dazzling Newbery-winner When You Reach Me, Liar & Spy will keep readers guessing until the end.
* A New York Times bestseller
* Kirkus Reviews Best of Children's Books 2012 List
* Publishers Weekly Best of Children's Fiction 2012
* School Library Journal Best of Children's Fiction 2012 List
* The Horn Book's Best of 2012 List
Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful.
Superb.
By Caliboots
Stead is a gorgeous writer. That said, this novel is right in the zone for 6th/7th grade boy (and girl) readers, and will captivate them to the very end. Twists, turns, humor, and a subtle but deep reveal about two of the main characters all add up to a satisfying experience. I couldn't put it down; now it goes to my son.
39 of 46 people found the following review helpful.
Subtle...Too Subtle? *** See Review Detail for Academic Reading Level ***
By JAScribbles
Liar & Spy is another middle grade or young adult book covering the topics of friendship, school, and family. There are lots of them out there. We have a storyline about bullying, another about family issues, and a third that covers the dynamics of a friendship. This book is unique and has many winning moments. In the end, it was quite enjoyable.Thank you NetGalley and Random House Children's Books for the review copy of this title.I won't rehash the plot because I'm sure plenty of other reviewers will do that. What I will say to teachers and parents is this - Liar & Spy is not one of the traumatic, depressing stories being offered to young readers. 95% of this tale is calm and easy-going. Even the bullying scenes are light.There are also excellent touches of detail. Candy, the knock knock boy, Safer's personality, and mysterious Mr. X - all fun touches that added vibrant color.I'm slightly worried that young readers won't make it to the last 40% of this story. The ending is the best part. There are definite lulls in the storytelling. The concepts and messages are so subtle that they may be missed by some readers. Also the lingo and maturity of Georges' voice seemed a bit old. I found him to have a very experienced and wise personality. It seemed ill-fitting for a kid in middle school.Why the four stars? In the end, Liar and Spy has a lot going for it. Once you read it through, you will finish with a couple ahh haa moments. It's touching, it covers serious subjects without being a cover-to-cover bummer, and in the end, leaves the reader feeling good. I just hope young readers don't give up before reaching that point.Web resources give this title a Lexile Measurement of 670L.
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful.Great story!
By Lisa
This is a great middle school novel about friendship and family and facing your fears. 7th-grader Georges (the S is silent) is great character, and I think a lot of kids will identify with him. He has great parents and doesn't always confide in them. He gets picked on by a particularly obnoxious bully at school but isn't at the bottom of the middle school social heap. He's good at some things and not others. He's not entirely sure why his former Jason now sits at the cool kids table.There isn't much action in this story, but it's full of very believable thoughts and feelings and questions, and a good helping of humor. It should appeal to both boys and girls. Although Georges is in 7th grade, I think it could appeal to kids much younger -- maybe 3rd grade through 7th or 8th grade -- because the themes are really very universal. There's very little about budding attraction to the opposite sex, so I think younger kids would relate to Georges and his situation as easily as older kids. Also, I LOVED the Blue Team thread!(Note: I received a free advance reading copy of this book from the publisher at an American Library Association Annual Conference. I was not required to write a positive review. Thank you, Random House!)
