Several of the Cybils Middle Grade Fiction nominees deal with kids who get themselves into a heap of trouble by lying.
In I, Nicky Flynn, Finally Get a Life (and a Dog), the title character finds himself enmeshed in a web of lies when he tries to investigate the history of his new dog, Reggie. Some old guys at the park assume that Nicky is the grandson of Reggie’s previous owner, a blind man named Alf, and Nicky goes along so that he can find out more about Alf and why Reggie, a former guide dog, was retired and sent to the pound. Then, Nicky starts telling more and more lies to sustain his investigation until eventually the lies get out of hand, Reggie gets hurt, and Nicky becomes a fugitive from his mom, maybe even from the law.
Ratfink by Marcia Thornton Jones is about Logan, who’s starting fifth grade determined to stay out of trouble. However, trouble seems to follow him, especially when the new girl in school becomes his arch-enemy, and Logan’s best friend, Malik, decides Logan can’t be trusted, and Logan’s grandfather starts doing embarrassing stuff. The solution for Grandfather’s memory problems in the book is a little unbelievable, but it does mesh well with Logan’s “memory problem” of telling exaggerated stories when he should stick to the truth and nothing but the truth. Logan learns to save the stories for written fiction.
The girls also have their issues with making up stories and lies to impress others.
The Reinvention of Moxie Roosevelt has Moxie reinventing herself when she goes away to boarding school and realizes that she can be anyone she wants in this new place where nobody know her. Will she be the Mysterious Earth Goddess (MEG), the Hale and Hearty Sports Enthusiast (HHSE), or the Detached, Unique, Coolly Knowing Individual (DUCKI)? And can she possibly remember which persona she tried out on which new friend without her trusty notebook? I liked the fact that Moxie was just trying out different attitudes when things got totally out of hand. I can see that sort of thing happening to an imaginative thirteen year old. And I liked the idea that when it came time for confessions, Moxie kept some friends and lost others because that’s the way it really works. Lies have consequences, but sometimes you get forgiveness, too.
In My Fake Boyfriend Is Better Than Yours by Kristina Springer, Tori thinks her old, but now wealthy, friend, Sierra, is making up the boyfriend she says she acquired in Florida while on vacation at the beach. So Tori invents her own fake boyfriend, and the competition becomes fast, furious and time-consuming. Cute and sweet and twisty-turny. You’ll keep reading to figure out who’s telling the truth, who’s going to confess, and whose boyfriend really is a fake.
Nutsby Kacy Cook features 11 year old Nell, a homeschooler, who lies to her mentor, Libby, over the internet about her age and other details of her life so that she can take care of two baby squirrels she finds in her yard instead of taking them to a licensed wildlife rehabilitator. It turns out to be a really bad idea, with some devastating consequences for at least one of the squirrels.
In Happy Birthday, Sophie Hartley by Stephanie Greene, almost ten year old Sophie tells everyone at school that she’s getting a baby gorilla for her birthday. Even though Sophie knows deep down that her parents never really promised her a real baby gorilla, she almost convinces herself that her birthday wish will come true. Thereby demonstrating one danger of lying: you might even fool yourself.
I would recommend all of the above, but my favorite was Moxie Roosevelt. Have any of these books or others made you think about lies, exaggerations, and the consequences thereof? I think it would be great book club theme to read several of these books with a group of kids and discuss how easily untruths can spin out of control and cause a world of hurt.
The shortlists for the 2010 Cybils will be announced on New Year’s Day. And that’s no lie.