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Blood Don't Lie Paperback – March 9, 2017

by Aaron Levy (Author)
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 67 ratings
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Thirteen-year-old Larry Ratner wouldn’t mind starting an after-school club – only this one wouldn’t be for science or Frisbee golf or speaking Mandarin. It would be a club solely for short people. The only problem is that Larry is afraid of being the shortest person in the Short Persons’ Club. Now that he’s celebrated his bar mitzvah, Larry would like to shuck his microscopic status and become the real man his culture now declares him to be, especially in the eyes of his father. But when he falls hard for Sara Rothman, the only human on the planet who really gets him, his daily bus rides become hell on wheels as he’s tormented by a jealous boy three times his size. Larry’s too humiliated to tell anyone, especially his parents, that he doesn’t want to fight back. With his parents losing their jobs shortly after moving the family to this affluent Jersey suburb for a “better life,” suddenly Larry is too small and too poor to fit in anywhere. Despite everything he is learning about the tragic history of his people, as the tension rises on the bus and at school, and in the Ratner household, Larry may not realize history is repeating itself until it’s too late to save his own life.Wonderfully witty and hauntingly compelling, Blood Don’t Lie is not a typical bully story. What happens if David stops himself right before he slays Goliath? And what happens when the smallest kid in 8th grade discovers the biggest bully in his life is not on the bus, but under his own roof…his own blood? A former “member” of the Short Person’s Club, Aaron Levy offers an unforgettable anti-hero in this powerful debut.
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  1. Print length
    252 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publication date
    March 9, 2017
  4. Dimensions
    5.5 x 0.57 x 8.5 inches
  5. ISBN-10
    1632920549
  6. ISBN-13
    978-1632920546
  7. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

A former high school English teacher, Aaron Levy was an Associate Professor of Creative Writing and English Education at Kennesaw State University in Atlanta, GA. In the summer of 2016, however, he began serving full-time as the Director of Academics for the Georgia Film Academy. He earned an MFA in creative writing and a PhD in curriculum and instruction from Arizona State University - go Sun Devils! His first work for young adults, Pizza With Shrimp On Top (Dramatic Publishing), has enjoyed over 60 national and international play productions, and was nominated for the 2007 Distinguished National Play Award for the Middle and Secondary School Audiences. Recently, his stories have appeared in Bohemia Art & Literary Journal, Every Day Fiction, Black Heart Magazine, Linguistic Erosion, and Eleveneleven Arts and Literary Journal. In his free time, and when he's not injured, Levy loves to play attempt basketball...and play high above the rim. Blood Don't Lie is his debut novel. For more information about Aaron Levy and his work, along with tons of teacher resources for Blood Don't Lie, visit www.aaronlevy.org.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Goodreads Press (March 9, 2017)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 252 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1632920549
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1632920546
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 10.6 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 0.57 x 8.5 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 67 ratings

About the author

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Aaron Levy

Aaron Levy

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A former high school English teacher, Aaron Levy is an Associate Professor of Creative Writing and English Education at Kennesaw State University. From 2016-2020 he served as the Director of Academics for the Georgia Film Academy where among several film/tv workforce initiatives, he was able to lead the creation of the Dramatic Writing for Film, Television and Theatre 1, a new ELA requirement option course for GA high schools. Levy earned his MFA in creative writing/playwriting and a PHD in curriculum & instruction from Arizona State University. His first work for young adults, Pizza With Shrimp On Top (Dramatic Publishing), has enjoyed over 60 national and international productions, and was nominated for the 2007 Distinguished National Play Award for the Middle and Secondary School Audiences. His play BOLT CUTTER MAN was last selected for production by Thespian Production Inc's for its 2014 Halloween Play Festival at NYC's Joria Mainstage Theatre. Levy’s debut young adult novel, Blood Don't Lie, directly evolved from writing assignments he wrote alongside his methods students at KSU, was published by Good Reads Press. BLOOD DON’T LIE received the GA Author of the Year Award for young adult fiction in 2018, and continues to be taught at dozens of Georgia middle and high schools. His new play for teens, THE STUDENT BODY, just received a developmental staged reading production by the Galloway School theatre in March, 2021.

Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 out of 5
67 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

J. Lindy
5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best books I ever read!
Reviewed in the United States on August 18, 2016
Verified Purchase
Here's a tender, poignant and often hilarious coming-of-age story about Larry, a short, Jewish 13-year-old who moves to a new city and endures the crises we all endure when we're 13: the dreaded school bus, a serious crush, bullying, a formidable sibling, family financial stress, learning to discern true friends from superficial friends, and ultimately, making choices about the kind of person we want to be. Aaron Levy captures with amazing mastery the confidence crises and vulnerability we all feel as we enter our teens by delivering meaningful and vivid storytelling and by bringing us vibrant characters who make us feel and think -- characters we emotionally invest in. This book is a must-read Young Adult novel -- perfect and resonant for middle schoolers and for classroom fiction studies. One of my favorite books EVER. I believe Aaron Levy is a future heavy-hitter in YA fiction and put this book alongside those by other YA greats like Lauren Myracle, John Green and Sherman Alexie. (Full disclosure: I proofread this novel and was a beta reader. As a professional editor, I read a lot of great -- and awful -- stuff. When I say this is one of my favorite books EVER, I am being objective and unbiased. It's simply a wonderful and moving work of fiction!)
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Emina
5.0 out of 5 stars A Must-Read Young Adult Novel
Reviewed in the United States on November 3, 2016
Verified Purchase
I appreciated the story because the main character, Larry Ratner, a young Jewish boy, mirrored the experiences of middle schoolers quite accurately. Everything was very realistic, making it more believable, and touching my heart even more. The whole part with Sara Rothman and the letters is what really got me. When I was younger, I also moved and remember sending letters back and forth with my friends. I was disappointed in Larry when he didn't send any of those letters (except for the one that said "Burn This", thanks Marna) because I had a feeling Sara would play another role in the plot later on, even though she moved to Israel. I didn't understand the meaning of the bus driver's tattoo installments until the very end of the story, which spoke such a powerful message. I loved how that was placed in the story. Kevin annoyed me a lot, but he did kind of help Larry talk himself out of jumping off the roof. When Larry finally got the courage to beat up Robert, I was so proud of his character; it felt like I was waiting for that to happen the whole time. Larry's character development was amazing. I can only imagine being his age and losing not one, but two friends.
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Jon
4.0 out of 5 stars Hits lots of great notes
Reviewed in the United States on September 12, 2017
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Blood Don't Lie shares a lot of qualities with other great YA books, but also surpasses other YA fiction in one important area. In Blood Don't Lie, readers see the world through the main character's eyes, but they aren't trapped in it. There's nothing overly myopic in Larry's world view and Levy does a great job creating an entire world. In fact, one of the strongest points of Blood Don't Lie is the development of the relationships between Larry and his family, especially his sister.

Blood hits a lot of great notes. Strong writing and powerful storytelling.
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Abby Hayman
5.0 out of 5 stars Phenomenal Book. "Serious."
Reviewed in the United States on April 22, 2024
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Great, great book. Perfect for young adults... or, in my opinion... everyone. Larry is such a lovable protagonist... Levy knows how to write a YA novel. I'd recommend to anyone in need of a beautiful story with a powerful theme and great characters who you want to root for. The end broke my heart, but was happy to see what ended up happening in Larry's life. Need to reread!
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Shelly Ricci
5.0 out of 5 stars Solid YA novel for kids and adults alike
Reviewed in the United States on January 24, 2019
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This author (apparently a former schoolteacher) has crafted a memorable coming-of-age novel about the shortest kid in the class navigating the already difficult early teen years while also enduring some harsh twists of fate. It's a nice mix of humorous and sad, but although you really grow to love and root for Larry the narrator, Levy makes sure to draw us into the characters of his family members as well, who veer in and out of conflict with our hero, in ways that are consistently surprising, and yet totally expected, given that's how families tend to work. Great thing about this novel is that it gets better as it goes along. It's pleasant at first, but then the middle section yanks you back and forth between emotions, and when you hit the final third, you'll find yourself unable to do anything but read those final 50 pages or so all at once. The writer also has a penchant for Salinger-like realistic depressing detail (a family fight erupts due to a missing Salisbury Steak TV dinner, for example, or as in several instances when female classmates remove their shoes in Larry's presence, and still they remain taller than him). There's a lot of good YA lit floating around these days, from E. Lockhart to Christopher Paul Curtis, and this entry into the canon deserves some recognition.
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Heather Barrow
5.0 out of 5 stars I loved this book!
Reviewed in the United States on August 29, 2017
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I literally read this book in a day and a half, and that was only due to forcing myself to make sure I slept, and then cheating by reading at work (oops). That ended up backfiring when I got to a, let's just say, sad part that completely WRECKED me. It's hard trying not to weep openly while pretending to work. This story grabbed me from start to finish, and all of the characters were amazing in their details. What Levy was able to put across the page was nothing short of an endearing, intriguing, coming of age tale. Larry Ratner was such a relatable main character and I was transported back to my school days reading his life unfold before my eyes. I highly suggest reading this novel, no matter what age.
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