Liar, Liar: the Theory, Practice, and Destructive Properties of Deception by Gary Paulsen

Liar, Liar by Gary Paulsen

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


14-year-old Kevin has a talent he’s very proud of: telling lies.  In fact, he thinks that by lying about everything, he makes his life easier; after all, he tells people what they want to hear and he often gets his way.

Then Kevin begins to push his luck when he goes from telling small lies to telling huge lies, and things start to get a little messy.  For example, to get out of doing his share of a school project, he doesn’t just tell his partner that he’s not feeling well—he tells her that he suffers from relapsing-remitting inflamobetigoitis…and she believes him!  He also lies to his older brother and sister, which leads to a fight—so they get their car taken away.  Things keep spinning out of control until Kevin is forced to tell the truth about everything he’s been lying about…but does telling the truth make his life any easier than lying did?

This is a short, funny book that readers will be sure to enjoy.  Kevin is a likable character whose rationalization for lying will (almost) have readers convinced that lying is okay.  Those who enjoyed this book might also enjoy The Adventures of Jack Lime (Leck).



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