Liars

by P.J. Petersen

Cursed with the ability to discern whether or not a person is telling the truth, Sam nevertheless may be able to use his new power to solve a crime. By the author of Would You Settle for Improbable?

Genres: Young Adult, Middle Grade

Paperback

First published January 1, 1992

About the author

P. J. Petersen grew up on a farm six miles from Geyserville, California. He says, "I was sure that I lived in the most boring place in the world--a prune farm in the middle of nowhere. Since my family didn't have the time or money to travel, I did my traveling through books. I read everything I could get my hands on. Most of my books came from the Geyserville Public Library, which was one tiny room served by the county Bookmobile. I loved the place, especially on the day after the Bookmobile came."
Mr. Petersen wanted to be a writer from the beginning. He had other ambitions, like being an airline pilot and a baseball player, but he always intended to write books.

He was not an immediate success. He wrote seriously for over twenty years without selling a single word. Then he had his best idea--to write a book for his daughter Karen, a seventh grader at the time. He had never written for young people, but he knew the kind of books his daughter liked. That book, WOULD YOU SETTLE FOR IMPROBABLE?, was his first published novel. He has been writing books for young people ever since.

Mr. Petersen lives with his wife, Marian, in Redding, California. He has two grown daughters, Karen and Carla, and two grandchildren, Ryan and Emma. A graduate of Stanford University with a Ph.D. in American literature from the University of New Mexico, he taught at Shasta College from 1964 to December 2000. Now that he has retired from teaching, he is available for school visits, workshops, or conferences.

Reviews

[Hannah · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good one read but it really isn't my type.

[Matt]

I remember really liking this one when I was in middle school. Need to read it again someday!

[Sajjad Jokar · Rating 5 out of 5]

هیچ کتابی رو به اندازه‌ی این لعنتی نمی‌شناسم که انقدر خونده باشمش...
حتی نیکولا کوچولو
حتی تن تن
در واقع تعداد دفعاتی که این کتاب رو خوندم به کل فراموش کردم...
یکی از زیباترین کتاب‌هایی که همیشه و همیشه خودم رو تو اون فضا و اون موقعیت تصور می‌کنم...
دوران کودکی و نوجوانی من با این کتاب گذشت...

[Julie Decker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sam never believed in dowsing until he found out he could do it. And after that revelation, he realized that the downward pull he experiences if he is sensing water happens in reverse--pulling upward--if someone near him is lying. Because of this, he uncovers a few small falsehoods before a big mystery comes to his attention, and it all has to do with a man with a map. But even if you know who's lying, you don't necessarily know the truth, nor can you prove it, so Sam ends up between a rock and a hard place trying to take action.

I enjoyed the execution of this despite the premise seeming very odd to me. (I don't know why "water witching" would somehow be related to lying.) Sam was multifaceted and easy to appreciate, especially since he gave a relatable young person's perspective of living in a small desert town. I didn't much care for how deliberately planted some of the mystery clues were, though. They seemed to be put in his path just to lead him around and trick us for a while so the plot would be long enough for a book.

[Swankivy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a rather strange book that I enjoyed as a teen, involving a boy who didn't believe in dowsing until he tried it and was told he had the talent to find water with a stick. It seems sort of unbelievable, but then he finds there's some other related talent; when someone lies, he starts to feel the same feeling he feels when he's dowsing except in reverse. So of course the plot grows up around his new ability to find out who's making crap up. The whole premise doesn't make a whole lot of sense, but what Petersen does with it afterwards is pretty neat.

[Kristin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this book. It all stems back to my mom reading it to me while we were driving down to CA when We were in 6th grade or so. I love it becasue I know the area that the main character lives in. (They even mention Medford!)

It is a youth chapter book.

[Elm · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just finished this book, and it's a great read. I started reading one chapter at a time, then 2, then 3 till I finished the book. The suspicions and the friendship of the three characters, and the peculiar-ness about the town just draws me in deeper and deeper. I love it!