Blood Don't Lie

by Aaron Levy

Thirteen-year-old Larry Ratner wouldn’t mind starting an after-school club – only this one wouldn’t be for science or Frisbee golf or speaking Mandarin. It would be a club solely for short people. The only problem is that Larry is afraid of being the shortest person in the Short Persons’ Club.

Now that he’s celebrated his bar mitzvah, Larry would like to shuck his microscopic status and become the real man his culture now declares him to be, especially in the eyes of his father. But when he falls hard for Sara Rothman, the only human on the planet who really gets him, his daily bus rides become hell on wheels as he’s tormented by a jealous boy three times his size.

Larry’s too humiliated to tell anyone, especially his parents, that he doesn’t want to fight back. With his parents losing their jobs shortly after moving the family to this affluent Jersey suburb for a “better life,” suddenly Larry is too small and too poor to fit in anywhere. Despite everything he is learning about the tragic history of his people, as the tension rises on the bus and at school, and in the Ratner household, Larry may not realize history is repeating itself until it’s too late to save his own life.

254 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 11, 2016

Reviews

[George Whitesides · Rating 1 out of 5]

BOOK NOT GOOD

[Trevion Oliver · Rating 5 out of 5]

Spoilers Below:

This book was really amazing in the fact that it shows the struggles of a teenage boy, who suffers from problems that most people don't normally have to go through as a child. I loved how this book made me feel like the problems Larry had were my own, and I felt that i could somewhat relate to his struggles. Reading this made me compare this to my life where my problems don't even compare to his. He had to deal with constant bullying as well as two of his friend's deaths, and instead of these problems breaking him, he overcame them and pulled through. I recommend this book to everyone, especially young adults who have a lot of problems in life, that way if i feel when they read this book they will have something to relate to and maybe they will even take some of the same steps that Larry took (besides the fight on the bus) Overall, the author has written a literary masterpiece which successfully grabs the audience's attention and has them on the edge of their seat, wanting to know how Larry overcomes his problems.

[Hope · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am angry, very very....
I have slept very little last night...
Spoilers ahead....many spoilers, do not read further if you do not want to be spoiled.....

I am angry....
that two characters had to die , that Robert was a jerk, a big big big jerk
that Larry, had to suffer and feel so many things...
That his Dad had a temper...

And that you, Aaron Levy! YOU made me cry, the ugly cry.
and that your writing made a difference and Larry survived ...
I felt so many things...I appreciate your novel, very very much.
I am used to romance writing and it's Happy Ever Afters....this was sort of a good ending in a harsh life sort of way...but wow.

I did lose sleep, I could not stop thinking about Larry! LOL Mr. Levy knows how to reach out and touch the reader in a way that Sherman Alexie did in a few of his books. (that is a great thing).

Recommend highly

[Eleanor Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Who Is Larry

I think this book should be read by all middle school children. A great read and discussion book by all.

[Kathy Dobronyi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ambitious attempt to compare middle school bullying to the Holocaust.

[Scarlett Peterson · Rating 5 out of 5]

The opening line for Levy’s blog post reads; “Thirteen-year old Larry Ratner wouldn’t mind starting an after-school club; one of those twelve-step programs, only for short people; but he’s worried he’ll be the shortest person in the Short Person’s Club.”

Larry is certainly a funny kid - Levy writes a convincing thirteen year old, a young man who has to deal with growing up short, Jewish, and unpopular. He’s such a witty character, you can’t help but love him throughout the novel.

Larry also deals with a ton of tough situations; bullying, abuse, death of friends, and more. This book isn't one to beat around the bush where touchy subjects go, and it's written in a way that tackles them all beautifully.

The “Tattoo Show-N-Tell” installments are one of my favorite small details in the book - Larry mentions the bus driver multiple times, and I really enjoyed seeing his character progress.

[Declan McMahon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Blood Don't Lie is a book about Young Jewish boy Larry becoming a teen after having his Bar Mitzvah. Larry is dealing with his annoying bully Robert Bullock, who makes fun of him because of how short he is. Larry also learns his crush, Sara Rothman, who is similar height wise and he feels understood by her, is moving to Israel. The rest of the book is about Larry going through his middle school year as a new teen.
What I liked about this book was the overall story. Without getting into any spoilers it was nice tone wise. The shifts between the happy and sad moments are clean and well done. However, I didn't like a lot of the dialogue it sounded like it was being spoken from teens in a high school drama and not by middle schoolers only just 13. That was probably the the only thing that really bothered me over all a good story.
This book is a nice read. I actually think high schoolers should read it as I can see them understanding and getting more out of it than middle schoolers. The scenarios and dialogue work better almost as a retrospective to middle school. If you like teen movies very based in hardship and showing the struggles of being a teen in daily life, I recommend this book to you.

[Adrian S · Rating 1 out of 5]

Had to read this for school. Dipped my shoulder and barreled through it all in an entire night. I can safely say that my evening would have been more enjoyably spent flaying myself alive and bathing in lime juice. More than anything, this book just makes me sad. Not for its plot or anything, but for the bits of promising stuff in there. If the author would stop talking about a 13 year old girl’s ass and thighs (seriously, I know he’s trying to get into the brain of his hormonal kid mc, but there is no way that’s all Larry talking) and built up the more interesting aspects, he’d have a respectable book. Unfortunately what we have is a 200 something page snoozefest with a pedophile who gets off basically Scot-free, so many plot holes you could sift rocks out of sand with the pages, and the least realistic dialogue I have ever heard for middle schoolers. All in all, massive disappointment. If you’re going to insert your book into school curriculum, please make it good next time.

[Amelia · Rating 2 out of 5]

It certainly read like a 13 year old boy, I'll give it that. The only parts I thought had any kind of substance were: Larry's dad not beating him (and the part later when he does), Larry in therapy, Robert Bullock learning about the Holocaust, Larry beating up Robert Bullock, and Jack. I love Jack. Besides that, I feel like I could go through this manuscript with a red pen and take out a solid third of the book. It's definitely a middle school read and I had to read it for a senior year english class, so that also contributed to my dislike of this book. It has shreds of a good, heartfelt story, but there's so much that just does not need to be there. Very mid.

[Laura Raines · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am not a 13-year-old boy and I am not Jewish, but I can tell you that I was with Larry Ratner from the beginning. He made me laugh and he made me cry. I wanted him to grow and win, and he did in ways that were surprising and satisfying. He brought back memories from my adolescence and gave me new insights into the Holocaust. I don't think you can ask more from an author than that -- to present you with a real character in a real situation, fully engage your imagination, and give you new things to think about. Hats off to Aaron Levy. I look forward to his next book.

[Tiffany · Rating 2 out of 5]

My attention was grabbed by the author right away, but I kept seesawing back and forth trying to decide if I liked this story or not. The author created believable characters, deeply flawed, but at times the situations in the story seemed a bit too scripted which made them stick out as ridiculous. Then something very believable would draw me back into the story. I enjoyed the protagonist, wouldn’t mind knowing more about him, but I think the Book of Job tragic feel was a bit over the top at times.

[Ansley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Blood Don't lie is a wonderful book for any middle school. It relates to many of the students and it is an intriguing story. What I enjoyed about the book is that it was very eventful and it made me want to continue to read ahead of the teacher because I wanted to find out what more was happening in the book. The book changed the way I speak to others because the book showed me how to use my words wisely. This book is definitely worth a read.

[John Bradford · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an outstanding book. The story follows the trials and tribulations of Larry, the shortest guy in his entire school, and the painful lessons of adolescence. As I read the book, I was reminded of many of those same feelings of angst -- feelings I have managed to repress -- as Larry tries to reason through the experiences that he has. A great read for teenagers and an even better read for adults.

[Genevieve Trainor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reading books for school always make them less enjoyable than reading for fun. I would never have picked up this book to read on my own and I'm not happy to have read it for school because it was a little less than enjoyable. The idea was good but I felt as if scenes fell short and things weren't as explained as they could be and when big life events happened it was as if eh who cares. The characters annoyed me a little and I wish it ended in a different way. Not a bad book but not a favorite.

[Abby Hayman · Rating 4 out of 5]

read for class, this was my professor’s book and I throughly enjoyed it. had a few questions about the ending and was confused about where it was going, but liked the ambiguity. characters were well written and the conflict throughout was consistent. i read this book fairly quickly and was invested the whole time. would love to know what happens with the main character and if he ends up finding another girl he likes one day. I’d love a sequel

[Jacob · Rating 4 out of 5]

Blood Don't Lie is a great book, especially for middle school kids. It teaches a very basic way for kids to learn the importance of why bullying is a terrible thing to do. This book takes you into the eyes of a bullied victim, and shows you behind the scenes of his life. I highly recommend this book to you, and your child for a great lesson.

[Mary Bess · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book in its beta version, and it was so cool to see it grow and transform into its current, published version. The protagonist has such a great voice and amusing personality. This is a great YA selection.

[Zayne.Dabbas · Rating 3 out of 5]

In my opinion I liked the book but it was kinda all over the place or unorganized. My favorite part of the book was when Larry fought Robert. I would recommend this book for people who are being bullied because it shows that there are a lot of people going through this phase in there life.

[Gracecaso · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really like this book, it's very realistic. I am in 8th grade myself, and what it said in the book is very true. Middle school has a lot of drama and is not always the best. I loved the format of the book, and the details. It's just a really good book over all. i really enjoyed it.

[Drayvin Knowles · Rating 5 out of 5]

Blood Don't Lie by Aaron Levy is a book about the young life of Larry Rattner. Larry is a thirteen year old boy who isn't the tallest person ever he is actually really short, he talks about this a lot during the reading of this book. Larry goes to school with a lot of kids he doesn't like which really affects his decision when trying to invite people to his bar mitzvah. After realizing most of the kids he invited didn't even know him, he realized his bar mitzvah wasn't going to be the best day of his life.

What the author did to make this book good was how it was written. Aaron Levy didn't write this book normally because it has a lot of moments where you can feel the tension and know what the character is going through. He did this through adding tension moments like on chapter forty-three paragraph two. In between descriptive language he adds the sound of Larry's heartbeat disrupting each person when talking. "Bap.people standing and cheering.still. Bap. Big bus driver eyes in the rearview. Bap. Blood. From Robert's head?". This is a good reason for how his writing style is different.

What type of reader would enjoy this book is the type of reader who likes to read about someones life but not in a boring auto biography but with suspense and complex main character who isn't the same the whole story. If you enjoy reading about people's lives then this book is a good read.

[Stan Buike · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved every piece of this masterpiece by Aaron Levy. Though, not a typical bully novel, it is insightful, compelling and engaging. Very well done to the author. ❤️✨

[Amy Rosen · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first book of Aaron Levy's that I have read, and I fully enjoyed this story. Larry has just completed his bar mitzvah, but he feels far from being 'the man' that he is supposed to be. Being the shortest person in his class does not help with self-esteem, but when a note arrives at his home from his crush will everything change? True heart break and sympathy can be felt through the events that occur to Larry, but nonetheless proves that nobody knows what someone is going through on the inside. People of all walks of life can relate to this book through its themes of young love, adolescent struggles, and feeling like we are different.

[Haley M]

Blood Don't Lie was a great book. It changed the way of me thinking about how people get bullied at school and others don't do anything about it. I rarely saw bullying happen but this has showed me what it might be like for people that are bullied in and out of school. In my opinion, the best part of the book is when Larry fought back Robert to show that he could stand up to his bully. I feel like this book is targeted to a younger adults to show what it's like to be bullied and how he suffered through this. And this why i really liked this book.