Customer Reviews

Notes from a Liar and Her Dog

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

(If you are now checking out this book because of having read Gennifer's Newbery Honor book, AL CAPONE DOES MY SHIRTS,you've made an excellent move. NOTES FROM A LIAR AND HER DOG made my Best of 2001 list and it was the best first novel I read that entire year. Having booktalked it (particularly to fifth and sixth graders)for the past four years now, I've had exceptionally positive feedback.)

At the conclusion of the first chapter of NOTES FROM A LIAR AND HER DOG, the Assistant Principal asks Ant (Antonia MacPherson) to relay the story of The Boy Who Cried Wolf:

"I run my tongue over my teeth. 'Some kid pretended he saw a wolf a bunch of times, and everyone came to help him. Then when he really saw the wolf, they all thought he was kidding and they didn't come, and the wolf ate him.'

'That's right. And what do you think the boy learned?' Mr. Borgdorf asks.

'He didn't learn anything. He's dead.'

Mr. Borgdorf's eyes flash angry. His lips roll in. 'Fair enough. But why? What was the mistake he made?'

I blow my hair off my forehead and consider the question. 'He was stupid. He shouldn't have expected anyone to help in the first place. He should have handled the wolf by himself. That's what I would have done.' "

And that is what Ant is all about--taking matters into her own hands because she truly doesn't trust the adults and other kids in her life. She sees her mother as believing that she is wrong and/or lying, no matter what she does. Her younger sister (Katherine the Great) takes notes on Ant's misdeeds, while her older sister (Her Royal Highness Elizabeth) insists she's working on becoming a juvenile delinquent. The one person she does trust is her friend Harrison Emerson, the character who continues haunting my thoughts in this wonderfully funny and deceptively complex first novel by Gennifer Choldenko.

"My mom hates Harrison because he eats with his mouth open, walks his pet chicken on a leash, and because he's always scratching at something. I'm not friends with Harrison because my mom doesn't like him, though. I'm friends with him because I like him. That my mom doesn't like him is something extra, like a bonus."

In the story, Harrison and Ant are taken under wing by their art teacher who sees the saving graces in the two of them. Ant's father's career changes have frequently uprooted the family in the past and once again threaten upheaval. There are the health issues of Ant's beloved very funky little old dog. (And there are even a bunch of wild animals.) But most importantly there are situations resulting from Ant's 'self-reliance' which run from the legally and morally appalling, to the heartwarming, to the horrifically heart-stopping.

Because the story is told from Ant's egocentric perspective, the truth is never entirely clear. After reading the book and getting my wife (the middle school English teacher) to read it, we had enthusiastic debates about whether Ant had ever given us an honest picture of the other characters. (Indeed, I would just love to see Harrison Emerson reemerge from another perspective in a later book.)

I read Gennifer Choldenko's debut after reading her second book, 'Al Capone Does My Shirts'. I can say she just keeps improving. She has not forgotten what it is to be a child, and she writes in a way that young people can relate to, as well as their parents, who can remember what it felt like to be that awkward adolescent.

Antonia "Ant" McPherson is a sixth-grader, the middle child surrounded by two "perfect" siblings. Her father changes jobs at the slightest whim, and has moved the family all over the country. All three daughters finally feel comfortable in their present town, even Ant, who has attached herself to a fellow misfit, Harrison, who has a pet chicken. Ant feels unloved and ignored by her parents, and is convinced she is adopted. She even starts telling everyone she is adopted, and she is waiting for her "real" parents to arrive any day.

Ant hides her frustration behind a web of lies, which begin to bury her. She is befriended by the young, idealistic art teacher, "Just" Carol, who lets Ant and Harrison be volunteers at the zoo. Ant creates self-fulfilling prophecies by telling her parents she is failing, even though she is the best math student in school. It seems that Ant wants to keep lying to her parents and to everyone, to avoid having to do anything to fit in with her "perfect" siblings.

Choldenko writes in a very entertaining style, and her stories are not sugar-coated or patronizing. Nothing happens that is from a fantasy world, and the feelings are real. We feel empathy for Ant, but we also feel she needs to stop lying and take responsibility for her actions. It is true to life with great lessons, and Choldenko is definitely one of the best writers for children today.

Developing strong, three-dimentional characters is definately a gift that the Good Lord has decided to bless Gennifer Choldenko with. I've encountered many "counter-culture" teens like the main character, Ant (short for Antonia), who have the nicest parents, but seem troubled. Their dress, actions and attitudes seem to shout, "I don't care." Rather than take the "I don't care" exterior and run with it, Choldenko writes in the first person from Ant's point-of-view, so that we can see the contrast between what Ant says and what Ant does; what Ant's goals and dreams are and how her actions (especially her constant lies and deceptions) prevent her from achieving those dreams. Choldenko goes a step further, however. She doesn't focus on Ant as the cause of, and solution to all of her problems. She shows how her family contributes to, her problems through a lack of meaningful communication. Far from being a down and negative book however, it is written with a rather light-hearted tone. Choldenko includes many scenes inteded to put a smile on your face (the interactions with Harrison, for instance) and will quickly switch to a confrontation between Ant and her family. The contrast serves to strengthen the different emotions.

I am seriously planning to assign this book to my sixth grade class to read. I think they'll like it and it looks like they'll be able to identify with many of Ant's problems/thoughts (thus, making for great discussions of the book). Unless I edit this review, assume that the book as assigned reading went VERY well.

Hi, I am a preteen who just read this book, Notes From a Liar and Her Dog, by Gennifer Choldenko. This is one of my favorite books and I couldn't put it down. So you are probably wondering why I only gave it 4 stars. This book is about a girl named Ant (a nickname for Antonia). She doesn't like her family and makes up a crazy story about how her "real parents" are going to come get Ant and her dog, Tashi (a nickname for Pistachio), the only "real" member of Ant's family. Ant is constantly getting in trouble, but when she's not, she's busy hanging out with her best and only friend, Harrison, going to the zoo to be a volunteer with Harrison and the art teacher, Just Carol, and participating in Math-A-Thons. There are some reasons why I only gave this book 4 stars, though. Number one, you can clearly see Ant loves her dog, Tashi, and her mother doesn't. So when Tashi gets sick, Ant takes him to the vet, without her mother's permission, and fills out a wrong address so they won't get billed. But later in the story, Ant's mother shows Ant's father a brochure about how old dogs don't like to go on long car trips, airplanes, etc. She tells Ant why she did this because she knew that if anything happened to Pistachio, Ant would never forgive her and her dad. What I don't get is how Ant's mother cares about the fact that Ant loves Tashi and she wouldn't want anything to happen to him, but when Ant wanted to take Tashi to the vet, Ant's mother said no. Another thing I didn't like about this book was when Ant brings Tashi to the zoo when she goes to be a Zoo Teen, I'm not going to give it away so I won't give full detail, something terrible happens to Tashi. Then, the next time Ant goes to the zoo, she brings Tashi and the same thing happens to him. I found having this happened twice was unneccessary and it was only to make the book longer. I found it quite boring because many of the chapters took place in the zoo and this crisis happening two times was unrealisitic and a waste of space. Finally, for most of the book, Ant hates her sisters, Elizabeth and Kate. Then, you can clearly see that Ant is beginning to appreciate her older sister, Elizabeth. Then at the last part of the book, Ant still insists that she doesn't like her sisters. So this leaves readers wondering if Ant has turned over a new leaf, concerning her sisters, especially for her older one. Other than those three things, this book will always remain one of my favorites.

This is the anti-sitcom book--rather than earth-shaking problems being resolved in half an hour, minus ads, this books shows the conflicts between Ant and the adults around her clearly and realistically, and begins the resolution process imperfectly and honestly. Ant feels she has to lie to get any notice in her family. Ant's Mom and Dad are fed up with lieing and refuse, then, to listen or give Ant any attention, positive or negative, unless she had said something so outrageous it cannot be let go. Circular conflicts that feed on each other are realistically and thouroughly portrayed in this phenominal first novel by Gennifer Choldenko. A great book for discussion groups, too!

You should read this book because it is very intresting. If you start reading it you might not want to put it down it is very fascinating because it talks about a girl who is different. She feels left out and no one understands her. Her name is Ant she is trying to get away from many things. She just can't stand some people. Read this enjoyable story you will really like it.

The book I'm doing this book review on is Notes from a Liar and Her Dog written by Gennifer Choldenko. Antonia MacPherson is a 12 year girl who thinks she was adopted. Her mom doesn't believe anything she says. Her art teacher, who likes being called just Carol, believes her and gives her a chance. She tries to change Ant and make her start telling the truth. I read this book because it sounded funny. I recommend this book to anyone who likes funny books.

The book has a lot of unique characters. The book became funny because of these characters. The moments of this book are realistic and you can relate to them. Antonia's believes that "you can't waste the truth on people who won't understand". Harrison is Antonia's best friend and Harrison has a chicken that can use the litter box. The reason I think Harrison is cool because I like chickens. The one thing I don't like about this book is why there's an art teacher in Ant's business. I don't like that because I think it's an invasion of privacy and I don't like it when people are in my business.

This book was awesome because it's funny and Harrison has a chicken. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes funny books.

The book I read called 'Notes From A Liar And Her Dog" by Gennifer Choldenko is a really good book. There are 27 chapters in the book but you have to read them all to find out what happens in the end. In this book there is a girl who's name is Antonia. She lives with what she calls the MacPherson family. There is her older sister Elizabeth who is 14, her mom, dad, and her younger sister Katherine. She also has a dog-named Pistachio.

Well in the begging she claims that her family is her fake parents and that her real parents are going to come get her one-day. She has a friend called Harrison, they both live on Sara's road. Her nickname is Ant. Well her family has always moved around and the house they live in right now is the one they have lived the longest. Well one day her and Harrison were invited to go to the zoo with a teacher. Except she had to take her dog with her because he was sick and she had to give him his pills. Well the teacher they go with finds out she has her dog with her because it goes in the lion's cage and almost gets eaten. Then they get taken again and it happens again and the teacher their with gets fired for not telling the head worker person. Then Ant spends a lot of time at home. During this period of time she works out all her problems with her mom and sisters since they all used to fight. Then one day her dad comes home and says if quit his job. Well usually this meant they were going to move again. So Antonia went and talked to her sister about it and her sister Elizabeth told her what she should say to their mom and try to get her to talk to their dad. Well she does and her mom gets her dad to not move.

I loved this book. The main character is so well drawn, such a unique but real individual, she comes alive on every page. I cared so much about her-- especially because I'm a middle child too-- that the last touching scene with her mother made me bawl. And I hardly ever cry when I'm reading.

Also, it was a page turner. I stayed up much too late finishing it. It's so rare to find a book with great characterizations (and not just the protagonist, but her family, friends, and teachers too) and also a gripping plot, I reccommend it to children, teens, and even middle aged people like me.

Antona McPhearson is just trying to fit in. And it is even worst having two perfect sisters, Elizabeth and Kate. To top it all off, Antonia has such a hard time dealing with her mom, but she always gets through the tough times with her best friend, Harrison Emerson, her cool art teacher, Just Carol, and her loving dog, Pistachio. Antonia's mom doesn't like Just Carol and says she shouldn't be in their buisness. Antonia feels like she's not wanted. She insists that her mom and dad are not her real parents.
On good thing happened to Antonia, she was doing very well in math. She got invited to a Distric Two Math - A - Thon. I guess a lot of good things were happening to her because her art teacher invited Antonia and Harrison to join her at the zoo in a program called, Zoo Pals. But the down side is Antonia really doesn't seem to be zoo material.
I think this book is right for anyone. If you're trying to fit in, I think you would be able to relate to the book more. I was just looking for a good book and I guess I found one because at times i felt like I wanted to burst out in tears! This book is very moving and exciting.