Lying, Stealing, and Other Ways to Save the Planet

by Curtis Campbell

A hilarious YA novel about coming of age in the shadow of climate change, overcoming cynicism, and the power of collaboration from the award-winning author of Dragging Mason County.

Ever since the best story of his career became the worst humiliation of his life, teen reporter John O’Neil has gone rogue. He has turned his nose for news toward blackmailing those responsible, namely Lance McPhee, diabolical heir to the local country club. When John learns that the club plans to expand into a bird conservation area founded by his late grandfather, he begrudgingly joins forces with the school birdwatching club to expose the scandal. And if John ruins Lance’s life along the way? He’s only killing two birds with one stone.

John races against the clock in a desperate bid at environmental espionage involving forgeries, a car chase, and a high-stakes heist. But it’s a race John won’t win without former best friend/co-reporter Rachel Miller, who just so happens to want him dead. Can this motley crew flock together long enough for their mission to take flight?

Genres: Young Adult, LGBT

208 pages, Paperback

Published May 5, 2026

About the author

CURTIS CAMPBELL is a writer, comedian, and theater artist. His plays are mainstays of the Toronto indie theater scene, and he is the winner of the inaugural Comedy Bar and Second City Award for Best Comedy at the 2022 Toronto Fringe. NOW Toronto has described Curtis’s work as “razor sharp,” the Toronto Star called it “pitch perfect satire,” and Curtis’s mother has described it as “just not my cup of tea.” Curtis grew up in rural Ontario and now lives in Toronto with an artist named Kevin and their dog, Pip. Dragging Mason County is his debut novel.

Reviews

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another funny queer YA coming of age story set in the same universe as Dragging Mason County but featuring a whole new cast of characters. I was lucky to read an early copy of this one and I really enjoyed all the local to me references. This one didn't quite hit as strong as the author's debut for me personally but there's still lots of great messages about friendship, mental health and fighting for causes that are important.

[Erik Hilbert · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think it was great to read about a guy who is very much into environmental activism and takes ecological issues seriously, but at the same time, it felt like things were blown out of proportion. I think it would have been great if the stakes were higher, but I also understand that as a teenager, things often feel much more important that they later seem, so it’s I actually think it’s somewhat charming. I still have a preference for more high-stakes stuff, though. Anyway, I like how smug and unapologetically gay John is. (I mean that as in open, not as in promiscuous) His almost over the top confidence is very compelling and his internal monologue is hilarious. It’s entertaining to read about things in his perspective.

One complaint I have is that especially in the beginning of the book, you are bombarded by side characters, none of which have a particularly memorable name. Honestly, my memory struggled to keep up and many times in the middle of the book, I would see a character with a vaguely familiar name and be left scratching my head over what role the character played in the story. I also got names mixed up a lot of times, and I think it would have been better to spend more time on their introductions. The writing style was also not really my cup of tea.

In conclusion, this was fun YA book, and I think I would have enjoyed this even more if had read this as a teenager a few years ago.

[Djmc-1020 · Rating 4 out of 5]

(This review is cross-posted on NetGalley.)

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this book. It took me a while to read it due to the formatting, but once I got a hang of it, I found myself laughing and chuckling at the humor as well as waiting to see in what ways John and his friends/team would fight for the environment (as well as get some blackmail). I liked how the book didn't come off as preachy, and I enjoyed that the characters were flawed. (My favorite characters are Jane and Brian--sorry John.)

I appreciated that the characters spoke and insulted each other in ways that seem realistic (at least, in my experience). The only problem was that I'm not sure if I could recommend this book to a parent or teen without first providing a disclaimer regarding the language. I also wish some things were explored a bit. Other than that, this was a fun read.

Once again, thank you NetGalley for this ARC.

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun way to take the world we are living in and using it to create a fun YA story. The characters were fun and easy to enjoy their journey. I was never bored reading the story.

It flowed nicely and didn’t feel like it was pushing an agenda but rather taking the time to see the world we know and using it to give the story and characters purpose.

Definitely worth it to give this one a try.


Thanks to NetGallery and the publisher for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

[JXR · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun, interesting, YA coming-of-age novel focused on the environment with a very YA perspective to it. 4 stars. tysm for the E-ARC.

[Mya · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very funny and silly VERY convoluted