This book is a 2006 Cybil Award Nominee for YA Fiction.
Dirty Liar is a difficult book to read. The rapid fire thoughts of Benji, called Dogboy by his maybe-friends, are disconcerting and uncomfortable. The reader is drawn deep inside of his head, and it’s an uncomfortable place to be. See, Benji’s family is completely dysfunctional. He’s moved in with his dad and new stepmom and little sister because of something that happened at home. His mother’s drinking was totally out of control and her boyfriend’s physical and sexual abuse make Benji doubt he’s a human being, much less a son. His father disapproves of everything he does — if Benji ever let him find out about this… he’d make his son go away again for sure. His stepmother tries and tries to help him, but can he really trust her? So Benji stays high, stays unfocused, stays loose, and feels the demons closing in. Until a girl appears, like a light in a dark closet — someone to focus on, someone who has her own troubles, someone who might help Benji care enough about himself and his future to break through… A new novel from Scholastic’s PUSH imprint, by Brian James.
