Sleeping Freshmen Never Lie
Title: Sleeping Freshmen Never Lie
Author: David Lubar
Publisher: Penguin Group
Number of Pages: 288 (paperback)
Advertised Age Level: Ages 12-17
Age and Grade of Main Character(s): 14 – 9th grade
Language: no profanity, use of the word “bitch”
Sex: none
Drug/Alcohol Use: none
Violence: bullying, main character gets beat up by a bully
Social Issues: unrequited love, bullying, illiteracy, attempted suicide
Suggested Movie Grade: PG
Premise: Scott Hudson begins his freshman year with a sense of excitement and dread. He expects that being the new kids in school will be tough, but he has no idea exactly how rough. Older students seem to get a lot of pleasure out of teasing and physically tormenting the freshmen, and having his lunch money stolen is a daily occurrence. Scott’s homework load is overwhelming, and when he joins several extra curricular activities trying to get closer to his crush Julia, sleep deprivation is only one of the painful side effects. He never expected that his friends would drift away once they got girlfriends or joined sports teams. Scott finds himself floating through the social scene, not sure where he fits in.
What Scott doesn’t expect is how much he learns. From fantastic teachers like Mr. Franka, his honors English teacher, or from writing sports stories for the school newspaper. Scott also makes friends with unlikely people and discovers that his life is pretty good, especially once he’s finally finished with his freshman year.
Potential Points of Concern:
Scott’s brother, Brian, was a troublemaker in school and is having a hard time holding down a job or becoming a responsible adult. Scott discovers that Brian is functionally illiterate.
Scott is bullied along with other freshmen. His lunch money is often stolen.
One student who befriends Scott is often truant from school and steals gasoline from other cars.
Football player Vernon attacks Scott and beats him up when Vernon learns that Scott is romantically interested in Vernon’s girlfriend, Julia.
A student nicknamed Mouth – a relative outcast and social misfit – attempts to commit suicide. Scott visits Mouth in the hospital.
Lee, a girl who dresses differently and has many facial piercings, is teased about her looks and called a Freaky Bitch.
Age Appropriateness: 12 +
Age Appropriate 