Insta Review: Liar & Spy, by Rebecca Stead

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Another novel from the author of When You Reach Me and Hello Stranger. Liar & Spy was, honestly, forgettable. I finished this book two months ago and have been putting off writing the review because I didn’t know what to say – until I realized that that, in itself, was the review. It’s clear that main character Georges is dealing with some sort of difficulty in his life, but Stead decides not to reveal what is really happening until the very end of the book. This technique added some mystery and suspense to the novel, I suppose, but I found it frustrating. Georges’ growing friendship with his odd neighbor Saver is interesting, and Saver’s claims to be a spy going on dangerous secret missions are enough to keep the story moving. Georges’ link to his artist namesake, Serat, is a bright spot, as are Savers’ personality quirks. But once I turned the final page I forgot about the story almost immediately. The plotline is similar to that of A Dog Called Homeless, but I didn't connect with this one the same way. My students see something that I don’t in this book, as they keep requesting it; I'm glad they like it, but I’ll just have to chalk that up to another mystery 😉

A post shared by Ms. Fitz (she/her) (@fitzbetweentheshelves) on Feb 12, 2017 at 7:46am PST