Customer Reviews

Tall Tales

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4 star:		(3)
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Using humor and strong characterization, Karen Day masters the fine line between realism and optimism in this page-turner about a girl whose Dad is an alcoholic. It's no accident that Meg's best friend is named Grace, as grace permeates the entire story. Tween readers will cheer for Meg as they journey with her, and leave equipped with a hope that isn't false, even as they face tough realities in their own families.

"Tall Tales" isn't flashy. It doesn't leap off of the bookshelf and start screaming about how necessary it is for you to buy buy buy. There are no sparkles, flashy lights, or marauding dragons in evidence. It's slow. Soft. A book manages to tell its tale in a supremely careful fashion. I'll level with you here: It's good but it doesn't stick in your brain the way a gaudy Clique novel might. If you're looking for fireworks and lightshows, direct your attention elsewhere pronto. If, instead, you want a well-written title about friends, lies, and family secrets "Tall Tales" is a decent way to go. A good book.

Meg wants a friend. Badly. Desperately, you might say. When she and her family move to Lake Haven, Indiana it isn't the first move Meg's had to put up with. It's not even the second, third, or fourth. With a father that continually claims to have stopped drinking, Meg and her siblings learned long ago that having friends meant keeping them as far away from their home life as possible. Meg's gone one step further, though. She's come up with elaborate lies to fill in the unassuming or embarrassing gaps in her life. When she begins to grow close to a girl in her class by the name of Grace, it's like she's found her other half. But how long will Meg be able to cover for the fact that much of what she's been telling Grace is a lie? Soon enough she could learn that sometimes the most outrageous tales you come up with are the ones you tell to yourself.

It takes a while to figure out that Meg's a liar. When you first hear her spout off a whopper about her dad being a doctor from Tasmania, you go for it. I mean, it wasn't so crazy a lie that I didn't believe it myself. So convincing was the lie, in fact, that I thought that Chapter One was narrated by one girl and Chapter Two by another. I actually had to flip back and forth for a while to better determine what was going on. So maybe a little clarification would have helped the writing at the start. For example, the first time we meet Meg's little sister Abby she isn't necessarily introduced. It's one of those narrative techniques where a character just gradually comes into focus as the story continues. The fact that this book acknowledges the truly slow nature of change can either be seen as the story's strength or weakness. Nothing here happens too quickly. Make of that what you will.

With the veritable plethora of broken families in children's literature, it's funny that I can't come up with another children's title containing an alcoholic family member to compare to this book. I don't really have to, of course. Day has a good handle on the situation and presents it accurately here. You can watch the charm of the alcoholic and his heartfelt apologies post-abuse. Every antagonist should display multiple sides if a children's book is going to carry any weight at all. It's all the more effective, then, to have the father dancing giddily with the mom one moment and then shaking the daughter violently for dropping some hamburgers the next. The writing is nice as well. Certain descriptions will sometimes catch the eye unawares. Sentences like, "Her shoulders fill her sweaters until there doesn't seem to be one millimeter of space left."

By the way, as a former resident of Kalamazoo I was amused that the town was (in a sense) one of the final straws in finally deciding to try to get away from the dad in this story. All that aside, "Tall Tales" isn't necessarily forgettable, but it does demand a bit of hand selling and word-of-mouth. Consider it subdued and supremely readable.

Karen Day's TALL TALES tells of Meg, starting sixth grade in yet another new school, and determined to find a best friend. When she meets Grace she believes she's finally found that friend - but Meg has family secrets, and must invent some big lies to hide them. A moving story of what makes for friendship - and what's involved in lying - evolves.

Kudos to Karen Day for writing such an accurate and upbeat book about a family struggling with alcoholism! Tall Tales is not preachy or showy and that's what's so brilliant about it. The power of the story lies in its understated and subtle wisdom. How challenging to write a book for middle schoolers which includes a dysfunctional family without making it "a downer". And how refreshing to see a nurturing mother trying her best without being blamed. As a child psychologist, I love how accurately Day portays the ways that Meg copes with her family's secrets. Day's hypnotic message that its OK to want more out of life and love comes through loud and clear. I hope that young teens read this book and see how empowering it can be to enlist others to find a way out of family pain.

In Karen Day's wonderful first novel, "Tall Tales" she explores the life of a twelve-year old girl who goes by the name of Meg. Although Meg struggles to refrain from elaborating and fictionalizing her life, or in other words telling "Tall Tales", Karen Day's book is certainly not a Tall Tale. This book is about a young girl with an alcoholic for a father and a family that has not taken action against this father. Meg knows that she and her siblings and mother cannot carry on with life the way it is and that they must protect themselves from further hurt. Meg's father has gone so far to break both her brother's arm and her mother's nose. All the while, Meg, who has yearned for a close friend must learn what true friendship means and maintain the close bonds she shares with her new best friend, Grace. In all, "Tall Tales" is an excellent book that deeply analyzes the life of a young girl and what she has forced herself to do in order to erase and forget the marks that her father has bestowed upon her and the lengths she will go to hide her secret. Karen Day's characters in this book are extremely well developed and she has somehow discovered how to freeze the world and trap in just over 200 pages.

Meg's family moves constantly, trying to accommodate Meg's alcoholic father's desire for a fresh start. Meg is tired of moving and is embarrassed about her family. To compensate, Meg tells outrageous stories about her family. For the first time, Meg makes a friend, a very tolerant girl named Grace. Gradually, Grace and others learn the truth about Meg and her family, but Grace turns out to be more than a fair weather friend.

Tall Tales is a sentimentally gripping book. As a reader, you become so attached to the main character, Meg. I found myself disappointed in her when she told her tall tales to peers and proud of her as she helped her mom stand up to her alcoholic father. Her relationship with her best friend Grace opened her mind and heart which challenged Meg to become a stronger person. This book tugs on your heart strings continually as the story develops. The writing artfully weaves character trait descriptions and short interchanges, subtle actions/thoughts as well as mannerisms. I am excited to introduce this story to my 4th and 5th grade students!

Many kids lie about their families to impress classmates and make new friends. However, the motives behind the lies are as different as those that tell them. Some kids want popularity or bragging rights, while others are hiding the fact that they have serious problems at home.

Tall Tales by Karen Day begins with an honest wish: "I want to make a friend." The narrator is Meg, who, along with her mother, brother, and father, has moved yet again. She wants to stay in one place. She wants to fit in. She wants to protect her family's secrets.

Meg's father is an alcoholic. The word is heavy and not spoken in the house. The other family members walk on eggshells to make sure they don't disturb or upset him. Meg thinks her dad is an okay guy when he's not drinking. She wants to believe that he can get better.

Meg's classmates are naturally curious about the new girl, who really doesn't want any of them - especially her new friend Grace - to find out about her dad. Grace shares Meg's love for reading and writing, and the two girls start writing a story together.

Meg tries to dodge their questions whenever possible, but sometimes she simply can't. She begins to tell stories about her famous (fake) relatives. One little fib leads to another, and another, and another, and before she knows it, she's trapped in the web of lies she's spun.

During all of this, Meg is fully aware of her exaggerations and big lies. She is likable and vulnerable without being naive. Readers will want someone to find out the truth and help her family. Hopefully, those who relate to her story will be inspired to confide in trustworthy friends and adults so that they can get the help they need as well.

I had been struggling with my 9 year old about her daily reading time. That is, until she started reading Tall Tales. After school, instead of watching TV, she would read. WOW! I love any book that does that to my daughter. She liked the book so much she wanted to let the author know. She emailed her and the next day she got a response back from Karen Day. This author remembers just what it was like during junior high/middle school. She has mentored my daughter for several months and encouraged her to write. We both read No More Cream Puffs and loved that book too. My daughter still says her favorite book is Tall Tales and No Cream Puffs is second. We can't wait for Karen Day's next book.
I know this isn't a typical review because it doesn't tell you what the book is about. You can read that from the other posts or the editorial review. This is a review from someone watching her daughter finally find a book that she couldn't put down.

This is the second best book that I have ever read. The first is Karen Day's next book (No Cream Puffs) coming out in May.