Frederick has a theory about life. There are bullies and there are their prey. So to avoid being the prey, he acts all tough and finds himself at a camp for reforming bullies. Not sure how he is going to make his way out of this alive, he soon gets to know some of his fellow campmates and discovers they are also fellow liars. Throw a missing lion into the mix and hilarity ensues. HILARIOUS!

Lions & Liars has been a wonderful addition to our middle school classroom. We have used Lions & Liars in the beginning of the year as a read aloud to help establish community and discuss character. The students find everything about this book to be great and have used it as a mentor text for writing.

Great book for students who are interested in survival, camp, and friendship. I would recommend this to Readers who like The Terrible Two by Mac Barnett and Restart by Gordon Korman.

My middle schoolers may be too old for this one, but I am sure younger readers--maybe fourth graders--will enjoy this one. I did not think a book with this subject matter could be fun, but it was. Beasley does a good job of portraying her protagonist's efforts to fit in.

I received a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A fun book for kids. It takes place at a camp and has some great characters. I think if you have a son that you have trouble finding books for, this would be a good one to try.

This was a fun adventure-style coming of age book underscored by some excellent comedic moments and some tense underlying issues about race and what the world sees when they look at 'troubled boys' and the assumptions they make because of it. Geared toward younger readers, but an enjoyable book for readers of all ages. Will definitely be recommending for purchase!

This book was a great realistic adventure for middle grades. Perfect classroom read aloud. Great for discussing perspectives and assumptions.

Kate’s writing is very detailed and full of figurative language. This is a fun read that I know all students will enjoy and relate to in some way.

Frederick is having a rough go of it, he wants to go on a cruise to escape his problems, like he does with his family every year. But this year a hurricane ruins their plans and he has to stay home, with his friends who he hasn't been very nice to. But instead, they are not nice to him and he winds up in an insane spot, at a camp for troubled boys, with a name that isn't his. Can he make friends there? It's about the resiliency of friends and perceptions of young boys who are struggling. Frederick is a very emotional, good kid who only wants to do good but has no idea how to take a stand. He learns a bit here, which is worthwhile, although I found him a bit whiny. Also, the situation is so insane, you do have to suspend disbelief a little, but you can understand how it happened.

I wasn't sure what to expect from this one when I first started to read it. Frederick was a bit of an annoying character and I didn't think I would want to keep reading about him...but then he got on a boat and was lost on the river and took on a new identity at a random camp for boys and I stayed up until 5 am reading! I cannot wait to introduce my 3rd and 4th graders to Lions and Liars! It is a must-read book about discovering who you really are and how to be a friend.

Great story with strong characters for middle grades. Very relatable. A gentle survival of the fittest story abouot the social hierarchy of fith grade.

Frederick knows his place in the 5th-grade foodchain - at the very bottom as the flea that lives on a meerkat's butt. When he finds himself at a disciplinary camp in a position of mistaken identity he has an opportunity to start again. Can he hold his own with the likes of Nosebleed, Specs, The Professor, and Ant Bite? These become the least of his worries when a category 5 hurricane arrives and threatens to crush everything and everyone in its way.

I would categorize this as a "survival" book - surviving the impending storm and surviving the complicated social scene and relationships that growing up brings. Frederick's revelation at the end
"people who do bad things...have to be more than the awful things they did" brought a wonderfully challenging set of group dynamics to a beautiful close. Kate Beasley doesn't neatly tie the story up, rather leaves it where it is with a beautiful sense of hope.

Frederick Fredericksen is tired of being a flea in a world of lions. He wants to have friends who are glad to see him ... even call him over. But instead he has Joel and Raj, two guys that don’t even seem to care whether he’s around or not. So when a mishap at Joel’s party sets Frederick adrift on the river, Frederick is almost glad. Until he ends up at Camp Omigoshee ... a disciplinary camp for boys. Suddenly, he’s surrounded by “bad boys”, or is he? The funny thing is, they all think he’s someone named Dash ... and Dash is obviously a lion. So, maybe Frederick should stay and be a lion?

This is a story about characters trying to find their way in the world and not quite knowing who they are or how to deal with each other. The ending is a little unsatisfying as no real change seems to take place for the main character.

For about the first half of this book, I was hovering between 3 and 3.5 stars. It just wasn't clicking for me. But as I got further in I was totally sucked in and had to find out what happened to Frederick and his newfound group of friends (of a sort). I think part of the reason it wasn't working for me was because Frederick's attitude and behavior was just frustrating. However, he's a kid, and as a kid I'm sure my attitude and behavior frustrated the adults around me, too. Kids will probably really like this story, and whether they are frustrated by or rooting for Frederick, they'll want to find out what happens to him, too.

I will note that the ARC did not have very many of the illustrations, so I am not able to comment on the art.

This was a fun late elementary/ early middle school camp novel. I thought the characters were likable and the story line was fun. To me, it was reminiscent of Holes by Louis Sachar, just geared for a younger age group.

I just couldn't get into this book, sadly. I enjoyed Kate Beasley's other books a lot, but this one was a bit too hard to find believable. Fred is too whiny and the bad kids too obviously not bad but weird. It also moved a little too fast for me to really start to care about the characters.

Young readers that enjoy funny stories will definitely appreciate the humor and ridiculous situations that take place in this story. Fredrick Fredrickson is the main character that is desperately trying to find his spot in the world and he is quickly engaged in some quirky situations. As an adult, it was hard for me to get attached to some of the characters, but I could see how a younger reader could associate with characters their own age. Overall, a cute story.

Kate Beasley's second book is outstanding. Lions and Liars told a harrowing tale of young boys who all want the same thing, but go about it in different ways. Fifth grade boys are all trying to figure out how to belong, how to fit in and how to impress those around them. The competition is steep and everyone has a backstory that makes the competition even harder.
Frederick Fredickerson wants nothing more than to just have a friend, someone who needs him. He wants his own "crew" to support him. He finds friendship in the most unlikely of places.
This book reminds us how important friendship is, but it also reminds us to not make assumptions about people or to judge a book by it's cover. People have a story that we can't know or understand if we don't ask or don't seek the truth.
The characters, the atmosphere, everything about this book drew me in. I didn't want this book to end. I wanted to keep reading more about these relationships and these boys, but the end was perfect and exactly how it was supposed to be. Bravo Kate!

This story about Fredrick Fredrickson didn't resonate with me. I found the characters unlikeable and their situations unbelievable. I really like Katie Beasley's writing, but this one didn't do it for me.

Lions & Liars by Kate Beasley

Frederick is feeling like he doesn't fit in at his school and is upset with his parents when they cancel a family vacation, when he accidentally ends up at a summer camp for troubled boys. The others at the camp all think Frederick is someone else, a boy with a more interesting past. There is adventure and humor as Frederick learns about himself and friendship.