Liar of Kudzu

by Bob Schooley, Mark McCorkle

Overview

"Everybody calls me Liar. They don't mean no harm by it, it's just a plain fact that I am the finest truth bender in all of Dixon County. And not little weeny white lies. Big fat whopper ones that make people forget the question they asked in the first place."

When a new girl, Justine, moves to town, Pete Larson — better known as Liar — is smitten. He gets his chance to impress her after a strange spacecraft crashes in the woods. Along with the class science geek, Bobby Ray Dobbs, they discover that the crashed UFO holds an amazing key to the future. But who's going to believe a kid named Liar?

Bob Schooley and Mark McCorkle (creators of the hit animated series Kim Possible) introduce a character with a fresh and distinctive voice in this very funny, pitch-perfect look at three unlikely friends who try to make a difference.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781416914891
Publisher:	Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers
Publication date:	04/22/2008
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	192
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.40(d)
Lexile:	940L (what's this?)
Age Range:	10 - 14 Years

About the Author

Bob Schooley and Mark McCorkle are feature film writers who created the hit animated series Kim Possible, which airs on the Disney Channel. This is their first novel. They both live in Los Angeles.

Bob Schooley and Mark McCorkle are feature film writers who created the hit animated series Kim Possible, which airs on the Disney Channel. This is their first novel. They both live in Los Angeles.

Editorial Reviews

Gr 4-6 - In the town of Kudzu, 12-year-old Pete Larson is known as Liar because of his habit of stretching the truth. When new girl Justine joins his class, he develops an immediate crush on her and is determined to win her over. Summer vacation begins, and an unexpected encounter with a crashed space probe sets up the opportunity for an adventure with Justine and another classmate, the brainy but neurotic Bobby Ray Dobbs. Although the wreckage is quickly cleared away by government agents, the three youngsters find a left-behind CD that contains newspaper articles about future events and realize that they have a mystery on their hands. Eventually, Liar's reputation comes back to haunt him when he reads about a deadly local train crash that is supposed to happen later that morning, and he knows, just like the boy who cried wolf, that no one will believe him. Fortunately, the three friends work together to prevent disaster. Liar's attempts to get Bobby Ray over his compulsive obsession with cleanliness and his fantasizing about kissing Justine are entertaining, as is his chatty narrative. However, while the plot elements certainly challenge the characters and create some tension, the suspense is not always sustained. Although this science-fiction adventure has its moments, it will not keep readers on the edge of their seats.-Carol Schene, formerly at Taunton Public Schools, MA

Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information

School Library Journal

Pete Larson (aka "Liar") spins a whopper about the summer he was 12 and met the beautiful Justine. Together they witness the crash of a space probe which, having passed through a wormhole, returns to earth before its launch carrying a disk with images of future issues of the New York Times. Reading the news (thanks to his brainy but OCD friend Bobby Ray), Pete learns of a train disaster that will wipe out their tiny southern town. Can Pete save the town, make the Oprah stage and have his first kiss inside the giant heart in the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago? This joint creation by a pair of screenwriters has fast-paced cinematic action and exaggerated humor often based on stereotypes. Fast-talking Liar has a southern drawl, but northern cynicism and language beyond his years, thanks to the careful attentions of his New Yorker parents. Middle-school readers looking for humor in any part of the country will enjoy the familiar flavor and topical references in this modern tall tale. (Fiction. 10-14)

Kirkus Reviews