Parents' Guide to Liar & Spy

Parents need to know that Liar & Spy, by the author of the Newbery Medal-winning When You Reach Me, is a true-to-life novel about an "uncool" kid named Georges who's having a tough time at school and at home. Georges is bullied -- enough to be disturbing, but he's never in serious danger. He's also struggling to face some harsh family realities. There's a little bit of name calling, intimidation, and teasing, and minor violence at the hands of a couple of bullies (a boy holds Georges down with a foot on the prone boy's chest; a pair of boys pushes Georges and holds him against a store display). But Georges' internal emotional struggles are the most painful parts of the book. Rebecca Stead writes with age-appropriate realism and humor, however, so the book never gets too heavy for its readers. The novel also offers a particularly heartwarming, positive father-son relationship between Georges and his dad.