Liars and Fools

by Robin Stevenson

Fiona's life changed forever when her mother died in a South Pacific sailing accident. One year later, everyone tells her it is time to move on. To Fiona, moving on means leaving her mother behind-something she has vowed never to do. But Fiona's father has started dating again. His new girlfriend, Kathy, is a professional psychic who claims she can predict the future and communicate with the dead. Fiona is sure she is a fraud, although she secretly longs for her abilities to be genuine. With the reluctant support of her best friend Abby, Fiona sets out to put an end to her father's new relationship by trying to prove, with decidedly mixed results, that Kathy is a liar.

Genres: Young Adult

256 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2010

About the author

Robin Stevenson is the award winning author of over thirty books of fiction and non-fiction for kids and teens. Her books have received starred reviews and have won the Silver Birch Award, the Sheila A. Egoff award and a Stonewall Honor, and been finalists for the Governor General’s Literary Awards, the Lambda Literary Awards, and many reader’s choice awards. Robin was the Book and Periodical Council of Canada’s Champion of Free Expression for 2022, and received the Lieutenant Governor's Award for Literary Excellence in 2023. She lives on the west coast of Canada.

Reviews

[Diane Ferbrache · Rating 4 out of 5]

13 year old Fiona's mother died in a sailing accident last year. Fiona feels closest to her mom when she's on the family's boat. She's been having a difficult time since her mother died, and when her dad introduces her to Kathy things get worse. The last thing Fiona wants is another woman in her dad's life AND Kathy has a 12 year old daughter! To add to the problem, Kathy is the medium who supposedly gave Fiona a message from beyond. When their teacher gives a science project assignment, Fiona and Abby decide to investigate the "truth" behind ESP and other parapsychological activity. The story builds to a frightening, but not unexpected, event that changes everything.

There are lots of twists and turns in the story of grief and growing up. Fiona's reactions to her father's new friend are realistic and understandable. Abby and Fiona behave in the expected way young teens would when experiencing life changing events. SPOILER ALERT! When Fiona takes the boat on her own and gets caught in a storm, it is an exciting and scary moment. All's well, that ends well, though, and the ending to this story is believable, happy, but not sappy. There are some loose ends, but that's OK. It's an enjoyable book with believable characters and events, and some surprises. Definitely worth the time.

[Vivian · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was okay; I found it kind of boring and the title in my opinion was misleading. It took me A few weeks to read, at most I usually finish a book in a week but this one took me a little too long. It was interesting at times but it was mostly mediocre or "tedium" to me, but just because I don't like it doesn't mean that you won't, so if you want give it a try!

[Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book if great for an break. The language is simple, and the book is not hard to understand. This is a great book and I would recommend it

[Glenn Lindsey · Rating 3 out of 5]

An easy read so far. Will it be fulfilling, though? That's the question.

'Dead mother' story. It's okay.

[Phyl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just okay