Changes

|title=Liar and Spy

|author=Rebecca Stead

|borrow=Yes

|isbn=9781849395076

|pages=186

|publisher=Andersen Press

|date=October 2012

|summary=Georges has a lot to cope with at the moment. Dad's been laid off so they've had to move from their lovely house into a flat, Mum's had to work extra shifts at the hospital, and the cool crowd at school, including his former best friend, are picking on him. Then he finds himself making friends with a most unusual boy.

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Georges is named after Seurat, who created his paintings by using thousands and thousands of tiny dots of colour, and in this delightful book his style becomes a leit-motif for Georges' movement from fear to bravery. His mum always tells him not to fret about the little niggles and miseries of life: they're just tiny coloured dots which help to make up the big picture. His dad sees things differently, though. To him, you mustn't turn your back on bad things. They may not seem important when looked at from the future, but they matter right now and shouldn't be ignored. Georges will need a little wisdom from each of his parents to navigate the many challenges he experiences.

This is not the usual 'I'm a loser and everybody hates me' sort of story, in which life is an unmitigated disaster for the whiny young protagonist (and in which, frankly, you sometimes find yourself sympathising with his enemies). Georges is a bright, endearing boy with an enquiring mind and a willingness to accept a certain amount of absurdity in his life. He is fairly shy at school but relates well to adults, and despite the essential weirdness of Safer, the leader of the Spy Club, he is quite willing to make friends. He is also, just as importantly, strong enough to say no when things go too far.

The story is seen from the point of view of Georges, but several other characters have quite large parts to play. And for once, in a book for young people, they're not all the same age as the protagonist. Georges loves both his parents very much, and is clearly loved by them; the PE teacher Ms Warner and the Bennie the Egyptian shop owner add humour and warmth to the story, and sweet-toothed Candy, aka Safer's younger sister, is a strong, sturdy and likeable character in her own right.

Another book which manages to show deep feelings without mawkishness and which has a protagonist who loves her family is the charming [[Flyaway by Lucy Christopher]].

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