Wednesday, March 4, 2015

Games People Play: "The Deception Artist" by Fayette Fox

The Deception Artist, by Fayette Fox, takes you into the world of Ivy, a delightful little girl with a big imagination, growing up in the 1980's. She is always ready to play pretend and doesn't understand when her best friend seems to be growing away from her and their games and why the other girls at school seem to laugh at some of her ideas. These things may bother her but she's very much her own person and not afraid to be creative... even if it means stretching the truth once in a while. Her parents love her, though they can get annoyed, sometimes, like when she draws up a design for her brother Brice's bedroom to suit herself while he's recovering from appendicitis in the hospital. That doesn't mean she doesn't love him, or worry about him... it's just being practical. Why let that bigger space go to waste if he's not using it?
She is also a talented artist and always drawing. She likes to imagine what life will be like when she grows up... she can practically see herself, there, in the future... painting at an easel, finally having her own cat, but that's just pretend. Or is it? Why does that young woman seem to be looking back at her, too?
This is a wonderfully captivating story and Ivy is an endearing and memorable little girl who, though often puzzled by the relationships around her, carries on trying to do the right thing, in her own plucky way.

This song has nothing really to do with this book... but I think Ivy would agree with the sentiments.