The Liars and Fibbers Academy by Laura Foakes and Emma Taylor (Children's, 9 years + 9/10E, short 'n' sweet review)

Such a cool cover - including hot chocolate stain! (so much classier than coffee...)

May 2014, Candy Jar Books, 208 pages, Paperback, Review copy

Content: lots of humour & strangeness

Summary from Candy Jar Books

Think of a lie – double it – add a pinch of fibbing and ateaspoon of invention. Stir in a handful of clueless adults and a seemingly bonkers classmate, then sit back and wait for the pizza to rise. Danny Quinn isn't exactly lying when he announces that his sister has been reincarnated as a dog. No-one believes him though, so he is sent to The Liars' and Fibbers' Academy where he just learns to tell whoppers more convincingly. Aided by a girl who insists she's a mermaid named Derek, and Inigus Jowly, the school's mysterious caretaker, Danny is able to hoodwink his family until he finally learns the truth. But this turns out to be more outrageous than any fib he could come up with.

Nayu's thoughts

Now, I love mermaids. I wasn't sold on the girl thinking she was a boy (I did grow rather fond of her once I met her), but I was intrigued by a school for telling lies, so I turned the page and began reading. 

All of us, rightly or wrongly, have a perception (hopefully the correct word) of what a book might be like. Danny's story was nothing like I'd imagined it to be. Odd is an understatement of what goes on in his life. I'm not overly fond of mega odd things (please don't mention the evil that is Alice in Wonderland), but I found myself wanting to see what the truth behind the Academy was. 

Like the rest of the story, it wasn't something I ever imagined, but that just made this book full of lovely plot twists that made me go 'oh' in a good way. Occasionally I went 'oh' in a 'this is too weird for me' way, hence the not quite perfect grade, but all in all this is definitely worth a read!

Suggested read 

Ever wondered where supervillains go to school? Wonder no more! Simply read A Recipe For Disaster by Ardyth De Bruyn (Children's, 9 years +, 9/10E)