Sleeping Freshmen Never Lie

by David Lubar

Age group: 12+
Rating: ****` (4.5 stars)
Genre: Realistic fiction

Scott Hudson is just starting high school--and it's not easy. His friend group is slowly breaking apart, the bullies pick on HIM, for some reason, and his mother has just announced she's pregnant. Oh, and that girl, Julia, he used to be friends with in kindergarten? She's suddenly gone from the blending-in type to highly attractive and highly unattainable. Now he has to deal with hard-to-understand Spanish teachers, mean gym teachers, LOTS of homework, and... well... life itself. Since he's finding high school so hard, he decides to write a guidebook for his soon-to-be sibling, hopefully a boy. And during his journey through his freshmen year, Scott learns a lot of important things--about friends, books, life and girls. 
This book is really great. Mostly, it's just plain HILARIOUS. Scott has a very funny, real voice. David Lubar did an excellent job writing from his perspective. Because of this, it's easy to relate to Scott and his problems (most of the time) and the book is more down-to-earth and interesting. This book is a light read, and it deals with a few more serious problems in a not-too-serious way. Scott breaks up the chunks of text with lists for his soon-to-be sibling that are usually hilarious. It's a good summer read because of the lightness, but it's also good for school because of the shorter chapters and because it's about school.