Description
A heartwarming middle-grade novel about finding courage, making new friends, being proud of family culture and learning from mistakes.
Edie lives with her mum-it's just the two of them. Her best friend, Bowie, lives right next door, until Bowie moves to the country.
Edie feels alone and forgotten, but she soon meets Aleki, and she's happy to have a new friend. Aleki has a big family with lots going on all the time. Edie wishes she had a big, interesting family too.
So she invents a story-a lie. It's only a small story, but it soon grows, and it lands her in trouble. Suddenly Edie is lonelier than ever.
But then she finds a mysterious letter in an old book. It's written in Polish, the language of her dad's family, and Edie discovers she has a famous great aunt who lived a remarkable life with wild animals in a forest in Poland. Edie is proud of her Polish heritage, and she wants to tell her classmates about her amazing auntie. But, after her lie, will anyone believe her?
Edie Tells a Lie is a heartfelt story about friendship and family, loneliness, and the consequences of making a mistake.
Review
Living with just her Mum, Edie relies heavily on her best friend Bowie, who lives next door. They are more like family than friends. So when Bowie and her family move to the country, Edie is devastated. What will she do after school and on weekends now? And who will she sit with and play with at school?
The transition is hard, and Edie is exasperated by the fact that Bowie is ignoring her – how has she forgotten her so quickly? She must have made a new best friend already!
Edie starts to become friends with a new girl at school, Aleki. Aleki comes from large and boisterous family. Edie is envious of this, and a school project about family highlights just how little family Edie has. So when Edie tells a story about going to overseas to see her rich family, she feels seen and heard. The only problem is that she has made it all up. Will this lie destroy her new friendship with Aleki?
Now having more time alone, Edie finds herself reading an old book and inside is a mysterious letter written in Polish, the language of her Dad’s family. When she finds out all about the remarkable story and who it is, Edie might finally have a family history that she can share. But who will believe her now after her previous made-up story?
This is a wonderful story about friendship, both new and old, trying to fit in, family history and culture, different family dynamics, accepting that we all mistakes and learning from the mistakes that we make.
It will be enjoyed by those in middle to upper primary.
Teacher notes prepared by the publisher are available on our website for this title.
