The Secret to Lying (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9780763640842)

A teenage boy's self-reinvention gets out of control in a sharp, funny, poignant, and compulsively readable novel that gives a familiar theme a surprising twist.

James was the guy no one noticed -- just another fifteen-year-old in a small town. So when he gets into an academy for gifted students, he decides to leave his boring past behind. In a boarding school full of nerds and geeks, being cool is easy. All it takes is a few harmless pranks to invent a new James: fighter, rebel, punk. Everyone's impressed, except for the beautiful "Ice Queen" Ellie Frost and the mysterious ghost44, an IM presence who sees through his new identity. But James is riding high, playing pranks and hooking up with luscious Jessica Keen. There's just one thing awry: he's starting to have vivid dreams of being a demon-hunting warrior, a thrill that is spilling over into dangerous and self-destructive acts while he's awake. As he's drawn deeper into his real-life lies and his dream-world conquests, James begins to wonder: What's the price for being the coolest guy around?

Author: Todd Mitchell
ISBN-10: 0763640840
ISBN-13: 9780763640842
Publisher: Candlewick Press (MA)
Language: English
Published: 06/08/2010
Pages: 336
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 1.15lbs
Size: 8.50h x 6.00w x 1.00d

Accelerated Reader:
Reading Level: 5.1
Point Value: 9
Interest Level: Upper Grade
Quiz #/Name: 137969 / Secret to Lying

Award: Tayshas Reading - Commended
Award: Pennsylvania Young Reader's Choice Award - Nominee
Award: Colorado Book Award - Winner

Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Review - Children 05/15/2010
Publishers Weekly 05/31/2010
School Library Journal 06/01/2010 pg. 114
Booklist 06/01/2010 pg. 59
Voice of Youth Advocates 08/01/2010 - Recommended - Hard To Beat
Bulletin of Ctr for Child Bks 09/01/2010
Hornbook Guide to Children 07/01/2010 pg. 377 - Below Average, With Minor Flaw