1. Bibliography
Reinhardt, Dana. 2007. HARMLESS. New York: Wendy Lamb Books. ISBN 97803857469991
2. Plot Summary
Emma, Anna, and Mariah are three best friends. They are freshman at a prestigious private school. Mariah as a boyfriend that her family does not know about who goes to public school and is older. One night the three girls decide to go and party with Mariah's boyfriend and his friends. They tell their parents that they are staying at each others houses. But that night the mothers find out the their daughters are not where they were supposed to be. The best friends decide to make up a tale to tell their parents so they will not be in trouble. This little fib will change their lives forever.
2. Critical Analysis
The setting of the story takes place in a normal middle and upper class town. The setting is common that makes it believable that what takes place in the story could happen in any normal town. "I knew Mariah was hanging out with a guy from the local high school. Everyone knew. That's what it's like when you go to a school as small as ours" (1). The problem is believable in the story. Any teenager could tell their parent a lie and it could escalate into a major issue. "This is what I know about the truth: the farther you get away from it, or it gets away from you, the harder it is to tell " (1). The characters in the story are believable. The three girls are all very different personalities and backgrounds. Emma, "I've tried to shake my tomboy image, including wearing eyeliner and shaving my legs, even though my mom says I'm too young to do these things" Mariah, "Some people probably thought I was stuck up because I lived in a huge house with a swimming pool" (12). Anna, "Emma she has always been my best friend, but when we were together all the time, just the two of us, we were kind of invisible (13). Has the story progresses the characters grown and change in negative and positive ways has the story influences them. The reader can identify with the characters problems and understand what they are feeling. The author uses the style of writing each chapter of the book from one of the three characters perspectives. This way the reader is able to understand exactly what each girl is thinking and feeling during any moment of the book. The story flows and changes with each chapter changing from one character to the next. Anna, "Tobey Endo said "Hey!" to me as I passed him in the hallway. Tobey never says anything to me" (90). Emma, "And anyway, you don't really know me, so how can you say if I'm fine or not?" (128). The theme of the book is tell the truth. The conclusion of the book leaves the reader thinking how everything could have been different if they only would have told the truth. Anna, "I've said it before, but I wish I'd just told the truth" (212). The author created a wonderful novel with a universal appeal. Who hasn't told a tale to their parents to go to a party?
4. Review Excerpts
School Library Journal: "Unpredictability and suspense will keep readers turning the pages and questioning their own sensibilities. They will appreciate how well the characters are developed, and how seemingly simple lies can have far-reaching and devastating consequences."Booklist: "What price a lie? This is the all-important question when Anna, Emma, and Mariah spend the night with Mariah's boyfriend and his friends, and are caught by their parents. Terrified that they will be grounded, they concoct a story of a foiled rape, clueless that their parents will pursue the case by contacting police and that the school and university communities will hold them up as role models. When a vagrant is arrested for the crime, their lies come full circle. Reinhardt's thought-provoking story avoids preachiness in part because of the girls' strong, complex characterizations."
5. Connections
This is a great book for a girls book club.
Other books about Lies:
Efaw, Amy. AFTER. ISBN 0142415901
Summers, Courtney. CRACKED UP TO BE. ISBN 9780312383695
Summers, Courtney. SOME GIRLS ARE. ISBN 0312573804
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