THE BOOK OF LIES
by James Moloney
HarperCollins
ISBN-10: 0060578424
ISBN-13: 9780060578428
Ages 8-12
368 pages

As the morning dawns, a 12-year-old boy named Robert wakes up from a deep and disorienting sleep. At least he thinks his name is Robert, though for some reason it doesn't feel right. He finds himself at an orphanage nestled far out into the countryside but forgets how he got there. In fact, he can't remember much of anything, except that perhaps his mother is no longer alive. A fellow orphan by the name of Bea quickly fills him in on the mysterious events of the previous night.

Robert arrives in the darkness and is immediately carried upstairs to the tower. Bea witnesses the sleeping newcomer mumble protests as an old, bent man in flowing robes stands over him with a huge book. The book begins reciting a history to the boy, starting with the name of Robert. But Bea knows this is false; she just heard the old man call him Marcel. After he leaves, Bea tries to stop the book's magic, but it stubbornly continues its false history lesson. Finally, Bea resorts to stuffing Marcel's ears with candle wax and sneaks back to bed. 

After hearing the story, Marcel is eager to discover the truth about his identity and family. When he admits knowledge of his true name to the old man, Marcel is forbidden to leave the orphanage grounds. More determined than ever to reveal his history, Marcel, with the help of Bea, steals the strange book to look for answers. It is called THE BOOK OF LIES, which records every lie told in its presence and glows red when hearing the truth. With it, they discover that two other orphans have been lied to as well, given a false history to replace the truth.

Then two strangers appear over the fence claiming they have all the answers and promising to help them escape. They say that the three memory-replaced orphans are mixed up in an evil plan to take control of the kingdom. But whom should Marcel and Bea trust? Marcel and his friends set out on a life-threatening adventure, a race against time to save their histories and their futures.

Hang on tight to this fast-paced story, which contains more twists and surprises than a haunted house. With magic and dragons, elves and a flying horse, readers' imaginations will explode!

   --- Reviewed by Chris Shanley-Dillman, author of FINDING MY LIGHT and THE BLACK POND

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