I TELL A LIE EVERY SO OFTEN

by CLEMENTS BRUCE

FICTIONAL YOUNG TEENS BOOK

Genres: Historical Fiction

Paperback

First published January 1, 1974

Reviews

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Original and creative. Doesn't talk down to kids. It will take most readers, even those only 9 years old, not long to be disgusted with the bigotry and hypocrisy of certain characters. Our younger brother, the narrator, is an awfully good kid... not perfect, but most assuredly a better role model than many of the others. I particularly appreciated the respectful, careful portrayal of the "Indians" in this older book... it didn't attempt to be thorough about details (and risk saying something wrong), and it's not "OwnVoices," but it did honestly portray different perspectives from different white pioneers.

And the main plot device made it clear that being "Indian" is a valid choice because the red-headed girl is most likely indeed Hanna, and we're very happy to see her *not* go back to 'civilization'.

If any young reader needs a further clue which brother to look up to, a hint is to choose the one who is carefully reading and learning from Shakespeare's Collected Works.

Another clue is the character who declaims "there is nothing in the world more useless and wasted than a child who has got a notion about himself in his head." Again, though, Clements doesn't have the narrator tell us what to think about that; he trusts the reader to figure it out herself.

I'll gladly consider more by the author, but at first glance it does look like this is his best work.

[Terye · Rating 5 out of 5]

I came across this book when i was filling in on the Children's Reference Desk and loved it. It's a great story of what happens when you lie. It's told through Henry, who is fourteen and living in Missouri in 1848, through telling his lie, he gets caught up in something that takes him 500 miles away from home. The story is very compelling and the writing is wonderful.

[Stephanie A. · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this entirely because I was so excited to have stumbled upon a title from Lost Masterworks of Young Adult Literature in the wild, but honestly, I could have saved myself the trouble if I'd just read Susan Cooper's blurb on the back: "Try to imagine Holden Caulfield invented by Mark Twain, and you have Bruce Clements' Henry." Maybe it reads as a more exciting adventure to adolescent boys, but as far as I'm concerned, this character is every bit as dull and rambling as Holden (albeit less offensive), so I think it's okay if this book stays lost.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this when I was probably around 7 or 8 - during my summer of endless reading.
My first reaction was shock and surprise.
It was nothing close to what I even expected.
Looking back to my youngster thoughts, I believe that the storyline is pretty interesting and unique in its writing (considering the adventures that the protagonist goes into from telling a simple lie). However, I think the main reason I despised this book for so long as a kid was because of an inappropriate scene (if I recall correctly) of the protagonist seeing this Native American girl without clothes. Otherwise, aside from little details, the storyline is amusing enough.

[Nolan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story is pretty good. The language is in correlation to the time period which is nice. Not to mention the reality of people in the times connection to god. One problem with the story is that there is a lot of slow points where not much is happening. I know all stories have these but it will get boring after a while.

[Sally · Rating 2 out of 5]

A rather odd book. Intriguing, but definitely not a favorite.

[Marsha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty funny. Written for kids, but I don't think most of them would get the subtle humor.