The Half-True Lies of Cricket Cohen - Hardcover

"Cricket's funny, clever, and at times uncertain voice shines through and fills this spunky story with personality. The gentle introduction of Alzheimer's for middle-grade readers adds some nice depth to this heartening story." --Booklist

"Reminiscent of a Kate DiCamillo story relocated to the big city." --School Library Journal

"Not only a family drama but a love letter to New York . . . Will please readers looking for the humorous, the heartfelt, and a romp through the Big Apple." --The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

"A touch of From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler . . . with a shot of fun and adventure." --Mom Read It

The Good, the Bad & the Beagle

"Animal lovers and insecure middle-schoolers alike will connect with this realistic portrayal of tween life." --Booklist

"Burns approaches serious (and less serious) topics with empathy and humor, making Veronica's mistakes and recoveries as fun to read about as the boldest of adventures." --VOYA

"Burns's visually descriptive writing brings Manhattan and Veronica's inner thoughts to life." --School Library Journal

"Readers will find this journey back to contentment both fully believable and emotionally resonant." --Kirkus Reviews

"Offers a warmhearted and realistic take on love, grief, and the difficulties and rewards of making human friends." --Publishers Weekly

Catherine Lloyd Burns's The Half-True Lies of Cricket Cohen is an outlandish tale of a grandmother and her granddaughter whose us-against-the-world friendship teaches them both about what it means to tell the truth.

Cricket Cohen is not a liar. She just enhances the truth. Often. Cricket is a natural-born storyteller. She is also a part-time geologist, a Greek professor, and a certified brain surgeon with a thriving private medical practice. Yes, her patients are all stuffed animals, but the work is still very demanding.

Despite her busy schedule, Cricket always has time for Dodo, her equally imaginative grandmother. And one Manhattan weekend when Cricket finds herself in hot water with her teacher and thoroughly fed up with her controlling parents, she and Dodo hit the pavement. What could possibly go wrong when two people with a habit of confusing fact and fantasy take off looking for adventure? Lots, it turns out, and eleven-year-old Cricket finds herself face-to-face with some hard truths about love, family, and getting home again.