Liar, Liar

Liar, Liar: The Theory, Practice and Destructive Properties of Deception, written by Gary Paulsen and published in 2011, is the first book in the Liar, Liar collection. Subsequent books in the series include Flat Broke, Vote, Crush, and Family Ties. Paulsen, a three-time Newbery honoree and prolific writer of books for children and teens, won the Margaret Edwards Award in 1997 for his lifetime achievement in young adult literature. Liar, Liar is a humorous work of realistic fiction for middle grade readers. It tells the story of 8th grader Kevin Spencer and the agonizing week in which his habit of lying catches up to him. Kevin lies for selfish reasons until the consequences of those lies teach him about the importance of honesty and integrity.

This guide uses the e-book edition of the text published in 2011 by Wendy Lamb Books. Pagination may differ from print editions.

Plot Summary

Fourteen-year-old Kevin Spencer sees lying as a necessary way to make the world go around and keep everyone happy, and he’s very good at it. When he’s assigned to work on a project with Katie Knowles, the exasperating overachiever, Kevin uses his creativity and his memory for detail to convince Katie he’s got a terrible, untreatable illness. The lie works perfectly; Katie feels sorry for him and offers to do most of the work herself. When Kevin finds himself suddenly infatuated with Tina Zabinski, he decides to convince her he’d make the perfect boyfriend. Finding that classes are a distraction from his focus on Tina, Kevin lies to four teachers in order to get excused from their classes for the week.

Kevin’s older siblings, Sarah and Daniel, present another problem; the three of them share a car but only Sarah has a driver’s license, and lately she hasn’t been willing to drive Kevin where he needs to go. Kevin uses subtle lies and manipulation to prompt a fight between Sarah and Daniel, which predictably leads to them losing their driving privileges for a week. It’s only fair, Kevin tells himself.

On Tuesday, Kevin decides to attend the student government meetings, since Tina is involved in the program. He uses the meeting to cozy up to Connie, Tina’s best friend, a tactic inspired by the military strategies he’s read about in his research. Kevin’s best friend, JonPaul, comes over after school to hang out, but before long JonPaul’s hypochondria and compulsive behaviors get on Kevin’s nerves. Kevin gets rid of JonPaul by convincing him he’s having an allergic reaction to peanut butter, and JonPaul goes home in terror. The next morning, Kevin learns JonPaul has become so afraid of allergies that he’s “borrowed” an EpiPen from Kevin’s four-year-old neighbor, Markie.

On Wednesday, Kevin learns his favorite relative, Auntie Buzz, is in major financial trouble. He looks through her bills and bank information without her knowledge, then secretly balances her account and sets up an automated bill-paying system for her. Satisfied with his good deed, Kevin makes plans to attend a weekend-long music festival with JonPaul, but his Mom says he’s not allowed to go. Undeterred, Kevin gets permission from his dad, who’s been constantly traveling for work and doesn’t know Kevin’s mom already said no. When Kevin’s mom finds out Kevin’s dad undermined her, it’s the last straw in a series of complaints, and Kevin’s parents get into a huge argument. Kevin and his siblings realize their parents’ marriage is in trouble.

When Kevin babysits Markie on Thursday afternoon, the four-year-old asks what it means that his parents are getting a divorce. Kevin is tempted to lie, but instead he gives Markie a truthful answer and is surprised by how much Markie appreciates and loves him for it. Moved by this experience, Kevin comes clean about his lies to Katie and JonPaul the next day, but he gives excuses rather than sincere apologies. Katie says she’s already finished the project and plans to take his name off so only she will get credit. JonPaul stops talking to him. Kevin thinks about all the people he’s hurt by lying in the past week and decides it’s time to truly make amends. He writes a thorough letter, confessing and apologizing to each person, and readies himself to accept whatever consequences are in store. He also does extra credit assignments and offers to do volunteer work for all the teachers he disrespected through his lies.

JonPaul and Auntie Buzz are quick to forgive Kevin, and his teachers give him opportunities to get back in their good graces. Kevin’s parents ground him, suspend his allowance, and give him a long list of extra chores, but they assure him he hasn’t wrecked the family, as he fears. They also tell Kevin and his siblings that they’ll be doing whatever it takes to resolve their problems, and their family is going to be just fine. They all make a commitment to spend more time together and reconnect as a family, and Kevin vows to act with honesty and integrity going forward.