Notes from a Liar and Her Dog

by Gennifer Choldenko

Overview

Living in a family with two perfect sisters and parents who just don't get her, Ant MacPherson finds it easier to lie. After all, the only one who appreciates her is her dog, Pistachio. But when a concerned teacher sees the truth behind Ant's lies, it seems as though she might be in for a change . . .

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781101651124
Publisher:	Penguin Young Readers Group
Publication date:	06/23/2003
Sold by:	Penguin Group
Format:	eBook
Pages:	240
Lexile:	580L (what's this?)
File size:	508 KB
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Gennifer Choldenko is the New York Times bestselling and Newbery Honor Award-winning author of ten children's books, including Notes From a Liar and Her Dog, If a Tree Falls at Lunch Period, No Passengers Beyond this Point, Al Capone Does My Shirts, Al Capone Shines My Shoes, and Al Capone Does My Homework. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her family.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"Funny, moving and completely believable, this is a fine first novel." -Booklist, starred review

"For any kid who is a middle child, for kids who have trouble getting along with their parents, for kids who are sure that their parents prefer their siblings, this book will bring delight and understanding." -School Library Journal, starred review

Editorial Reviews

Gr. 5-8. Ant, short for Antonia, is keenly aware that her mother finds her deeply annoying and uncomfortable to be around. She is so different from her sisters, "Her Highness Elizabeth" and Katy, that she becomes convinced that she's adopted. The saving graces in her life are her Chihuahua, Pistachio, her friend Harrison (with whom she swaps her great grades for his terrible ones), and a teacher, who goes by Carol ("Just Carol" as Ant always calls her). Just Carol gets work in a zoo for Harrison and Ant, but when Ant smuggles Pistachio into the zoo, endangering herself and the animals, she almost loses Just Carol's support.

Choldenko catches the prickliness of adolescence, making Ant fearful and vulnerable as well as a sharp observer, particularly of adult frailities. As Ant eventually realizes, although Mother prefers the reflection of herself that she sees in her other two daughters, Ant is just as clearly her mother's offspring. Funny, moving, and completely believable, this is a fine first novel.
—Booklist

Susan Dove Lempke

Choldenko (MOONSTRUCK) vividly captures the feelings of a middle child torn between wanting to be noticed and wanting to be invisible, through the narration of sixth grader Ant (Antonia) MacPherson. And believes she was misplaced at birth. "Dear Real Mom, / this is what I would like to happen. I would like you and my real dad to come RIGHT NOW," she writes in the book she's keeping for her "real parents." She feels like the thorn between two roses, overshadowed by her sisters ("Your Highness Elizabeth" and "Katherine the Great") and misunderstood by her mother and father. She takes solace in the idea of a fantasy family, and in the company of her beloved dog Pistachio and quirky best friend Harrison (he's obsessed with chickens) as well as the nest of falsehoods she constructs for herself. Some have serious consequences, such as switching her stellar report cards with Harrison's lackluster ones, dodging vet bills and accidentally endangering herself and others while volunteering at the zoo.

A sympathetic art teacher Just Carol ("she always says "just call me Carol,"), glimpses the hurt behind Ant's misdeeds and steps in, but ultimately it's up to Ant to face some hard truths, take responsibility for her behavior and forge a fresh start with her family. Poignant passages belie Ant's tough exterior, as with her observations about her best friend, and her interaction with her father upon his return from a six-week business trip. This funny and touching novel portrays the tug-of-war within this strong heroine and taps into very real emotions.

Publishers Weekly

Sixth-grader Antonia "Ant" MacPherson, a difficult middle-child with "thick, straight dark hair and skin the color of a brown paper grocery bag," feels like an ugly duckling among her blond mother and sisters. She lies routinely to champion her tiny elderly dog, Pistachio, and her chicken-loving artist friend and classmate Harrison. Bright (she's selected to compete on her school's math team), funny, prickly, and defensive, Ant composes letters to her "real" parents and looks for an ally in Just Carol ("Not Ms. or Miss or Mrs. Anything"), the young art teacher who befriends Harrison and Ant. Ant has lived nearly two years in the California city of Sarah's Road, but frequent moves have left scars on the family. At 12, Ant nurtures a painful relationship with her mother, who seems to diminish and insult her almost unconsciously: "She sees a weed growing in the lawn and . . . she just can't stop herself from swooping down and snatching it out . . . I will always be a weed to her. I am all wrong." Just Carol takes Harrison and Ant to volunteer at the city's zoo, but Ant sabotages the day by concealing Pistachio in her jacket pocket so she can keep his medication on schedule. When the feisty dog escapes and tries to take on a lion, Carol-furious with Ant-lies about the uproar in the lion's enclosure to protect her volunteer job. Ant's loneliness and pain ring true but we don't get a complex sense of Ant's interior life, despite the first-person narrative. The convergence of plot points is disjointed; even a vigilant reader may be baffled about the timeline. A climactic return visit to the zoo (Pistachio nearly becomes lion-food again, and Ant puts herself in harm's way to save him)blunts the emotional impact of chapters near the end where Ant achieves a truce with her mother. Lots of ingredients but only moderately satisfying results. (Fiction. 10-14)

Kirkus Reviews

"Funny, moving and completely believable, this is a fine first novel." -Booklist, starred review

"For any kid who is a middle child, for kids who have trouble getting along with their parents, for kids who are sure that their parents prefer their siblings, this book will bring delight and understanding." -School Library Journal, starred review

From the Publisher