Liar & Spy by Rebecca Stead is a 2012 children's novel.
When seventh grader Georges (the s is silent) moves into a Brooklyn apartment building, he meets Safer, a twelve-year-old coffee-drinking loner and self-appointed spy.
Georges becomes Safer's first spy recruit. His assignment? Tracking the mysterious Mr. X, who lives in the apartment upstairs. But as Safer becomes more demanding, Georges starts to wonder: how far is too far to go for your only friend?
Tropes
- Spell My Name With An S: Georges is named for Georges Seurat
- Genre Roulette: The most interesting thing about Liar & Spy is perhaps how it plays with genre. Though the things Safer tells Georges are crazy, the reader believes them under the Willing Suspension of Disbelief. At the end, The Reveal is not so much "Safer was lying" as it is "this book is actually Realistic Fiction."
- Ragtag Bunch of Misfits: The Blue Team is exactly this.
- Monster Brother, Cutie Sister: Safer and Candy. Candy is adorable, and while Safer isn't exactly a monster, he's not the nicest, either.
