I Tell a Lie Every So Often

Author: Bruce Clements

First line: I tell a lie every so often, and almost always nothing happens, but last spring I told a lie that carried me five hundred miles and made a lot of things happen.

Why you should read this book: It's a story of discovery set in the nineteenth century, told in the voice of fourteen year-old-boy who's honest enough to admit that he doesn't always tell the truth. Following a series of lies told by various people, Henry and his older brother Clayton embark on a quest to rescue their cousin, who may or may not have been kidnapped by Indians years earlier. Their journey up the Missouri reveals to Henry who is he in relation to himself and others.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You've never, ever told a lie.