The Secret to Lying (30 page)
Read The Secret to Lying Online
Authors: Todd Mitchell
My family, for always supporting me. (No, I wasn’t like James in high school. Really.) And my daughters, Addison and Cailin (who was born while I was finishing this) for waking me up early in the morning and reminding me of what’s important.
Finally, I want to thank the faculty, students, and staff at the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy — the school that changed my life.
TODD MITCHELL
is the author of the middle-grade novel
The Traitor King. The Secret to Lying
is his debut young adult novel. He says, “I wanted to write a simple, realistic romance. But nothing for me is ever simple, and reality, I discovered, is a surprisingly strange place.” Todd Mitchell lives with his wife and two daughters in Colorado.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or, if real, are used fictitiously.
Copyright © 2010 by Todd Mitchell
Cover photographs: copyright © 2010 by Andrew Holt/Getty Images (broken glass); copyright © 2010 by Nino/Corbis (people)
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, transmitted, or stored in an information retrieval system in any form or by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, taping, and recording, without prior written permission from the publisher.
First electronic edition 2011
The Library of Congress has cataloged the hardcover edition as follows:
Mitchell, Todd.
The secret to lying / Todd Mitchell. — 1st ed.
p. cm.
Summary: Fifteen-year-old James lies about himself to be considered “cool” when he gets into an exclusive boarding school, but soon unnaturally vivid dreams of being a demon-hunting warrior lead to self-destructive acts while he is awake.
ISBN 978-0-7636-4084-2 (hardcover)
[1. Popularity — Fiction. 2. Honesty — Fiction. 3. Self-actualization (Psychology) — Fiction. 4. Boarding schools — Fiction. 5. High schools — Fiction. 6. Schools — Fiction. 7. Dreams — Fiction. 8. Demonology — Fiction.] I. Title.
PZ7.M6955Sec 2010
[Fic] — dc22 2009032484
ISBN 978-0-7636-5620-1 (paperback)
ISBN 978-0-7636-5621-8 (electronic)
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