Liar & Spy

Winner of the Guardian Children Fiction's Prize, 2013.

When Georges moves into a Brooklyn apartment building, he meets Safer, a twelve-year-old coffee-drinking loner and self-appointed spy. Georges becomes Safer's first spy club 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?

Rebecca Stead's characters are delightfully engaging, and she has woven intricate ideas into a beautiful story. Liar & Spy is an inspired, often-funny novel for middle grade kids about friendship, fears, bullying and how to deal with your worries. It will keep readers guessing until the very end.

Rebecca Stead is the author of the children's novels First Light and When You Reach Me. She lives in New York with her husband and two children.

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'In this taut novel, every word, every sentence, has meaning and substance.' New York Times Book Review

'Chock-full of fascinating characters and intelligent questions, this is as close to perfect as middle-grade novels come.' Publishers Weekly, starred review

'It is the true gift of the storyteller to take such age old
themes and issues and shine a light on them in such a way that it
appears brand new.' Magpies

'[An] incredibly touching, funny, clever story.' Readings Monthly