E. R. Frank

True or False: Simon is one of the coolest teachers at Forest Alternative: True Simon and Alex are friends: True Tim is jealous of Alex and Simon: False... ...until Stacy walks into class, flashing her tongue ring, swishing her hair, and spreading rumors -- dirty rumors, the kind that make you second guess who your real friends are, and their intentions. Rumors like Stacy's test and sometimes ruin friendships as strong as those among Tim, Alex, and Simon. Rumors are dangerous, but not always as dangerous or ugly as the truths from which they spring....

Friction

In a suspenseful story about teen angst and where truth and lies meet, one 12-year-old girl must determine the truth for herself and convince her classmates that she is right.

A Novel

Dorian Avers

** spoiler alert **
            If "Alyssa Lies" by Jason Michael Carroll was a book. 
 This is a quick read, I read it in one night. I thought this was a brave write. I don't think I've ever read a book like this. A book where a child is trying to figure out whether her and her teacher's relationship is wrong. Alex is a twelve year old girl, her best friend is named Tim and her favorite teacher is named Simon. Enter the new girl, Stacy who puts their lives in a blender. I think Frank worded some interactions between Alex and Simon to make us wonder if they were innocent interactions or not, she wanted us to doubt him as well, which I think is clever. However, it did leave me a bit disappointed at the end that there were no real mind games. 
 I think I hated every single adult in this novel. Both Alex's parents are in the medical field. I think her father is a therapist or psychologist, or they both are. They handled this situation so poorly and knowing that this novel is written by a social worker and psychotherapist, I wonder if she wrote them purposely stupid, like if these were based on parents she had dealt with or she agreed with some of the behavior of the adults. Anyway, her parents push her into this extremely toxic friendship with Stacy, even though Stacy told Alex that her father was dead, pulled her hair, and constantly manipulates everyone around her. It makes sense in the end why Stacy acts this way, but not why the parents are beyond stupid. In the end they keep forcing Alex to write her letter almost as a punishment, when she was so confused and conflicted about the whole thing. They never cared how she felt, just how she had made others feel. Both her parents and Simon tell her that there is some amount of truth in the lies of others. And then they got pissed off when Alex, a child, gets confused and panicked by the platitude. 
 I thought there were a few unrealistic aspects to this novel, that really pulled you out of the believability. Like a 14-year old having a "tongue ring"; the unrealistic school these children go to that lets them rappel on school property and then venture into the forest during recess, granted someone's parent and the principal make a comment about how outdated the teaching is and possibly in violation of safety and schooling codes; the whole soccer thing, like they don't have a field, or a coach, or real practices and then they go play a team that has all of that and win? And finally Simon is a scummy little person. He takes Alex to go get food for the class and then ends up in a car making out with his much younger girlfriend instead of looking after his young student, and then his temper with Alex at the end. Frank really wanted us to believe he was bad.

Friction

Reviews