Tall Tales

by Karen Day

Book Overview

MEG'S FAMILY HAS moved a lot because of her father's drinking. Meg arrives in her town longing to find a real friend, someone she can talk to and write stories with. When she and Grace join forces to... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0375837736
• ISBN13: 9780375837739
• Release Date: May 2007
• Publisher: Wendy Lamb Books
• Length: 229 Pages
• Weight: 1.19 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.9" x 8.4"
• Age Range: 9 to 12 years
• Grade Range: Grades 4 to 7

Customer Reviews

Staying Up Too Late Reading

I happened to get into bed late the night I read Tall Tales, intending to read a bit, get a taste for the story, and put it down until the next night. Karen Day is responsible for my night of not enough sleep - I actually didn't put it down until it was finished. Tall Tales is one of those rare books that take you gently but firmly by the hand and don't let go until you reach the end. I read with trepidation and hope, waiting to see what would happen. The beauty of this book lies in its realism. Meg and her family could be your neighbors or perhaps even your own family. Karen Day is a master of creating characters who rise from the pages and seem to have life and breath of their own. You will continue to think and wonder about them after you have closed the book. Isn't that the hallmark of a great book?! As an adult who also reads novels for young adults, I found the book's utter lack of the cloying sentimentality which can creep into the genre so refreshing. People of any age will enjoy this story and I highly recommend it.

Speaking Up And Gaining Real Connections...

Kudos to Karen Day for writing such an accurate and upbeat book about a family struggling with alcoholism! Tall Tales is not preachy or showy and that's what's so brilliant about it. The power of the story lies in its understated and subtle wisdom. How challenging to write a book for middle schoolers which includes a dysfunctional family without making it "a downer". And how refreshing to see a nurturing mother trying her best without being blamed. As a child psychologist, I love how accurately Day portays the ways that Meg copes with her family's secrets. Day's hypnotic message that its OK to want more out of life and love comes through loud and clear. I hope that young teens read this book and see how empowering it can be to enlist others to find a way out of family pain.

A moving story of what makes for friendship - and what's involved in lying - evolves.

Karen Day's TALL TALES tells of Meg, starting sixth grade in yet another new school, and determined to find a best friend. When she meets Grace she believes she's finally found that friend - but Meg has family secrets, and must invent some big lies to hide them. A moving story of what makes for friendship - and what's involved in lying - evolves.

A Touching Story About A Not-So-Perfect Family

Using humor and strong characterization, Karen Day masters the fine line between realism and optimism in this page-turner about a girl whose Dad is an alcoholic. It's no accident that Meg's best friend is named Grace, as grace permeates the entire story. Tween readers will cheer for Meg as they journey with her, and leave equipped with a hope that isn't false, even as they face tough realities in their own families.

Not Such A Tall Tale

In Karen Day's wonderful first novel, "Tall Tales" she explores the life of a twelve-year old girl who goes by the name of Meg. Although Meg struggles to refrain from elaborating and fictionalizing her life, or in other words telling "Tall Tales", Karen Day's book is certainly not a Tall Tale. This book is about a young girl with an alcoholic for a father and a family that has not taken action against this father. Meg knows that she and her siblings and mother cannot carry on with life the way it is and that they must protect themselves from further hurt. Meg's father has gone so far to break both her brother's arm and her mother's nose. All the while, Meg, who has yearned for a close friend must learn what true friendship means and maintain the close bonds she shares with her new best friend, Grace. In all, "Tall Tales" is an excellent book that deeply analyzes the life of a young girl and what she has forced herself to do in order to erase and forget the marks that her father has bestowed upon her and the lengths she will go to hide her secret. Karen Day's characters in this book are extremely well developed and she has somehow discovered how to freeze the world and trap in just over 200 pages.