The Deception Artist

Eight-year-old Ivy is the deception artist: she has a vivid imagination and tells lies so that people will like her. With her brother, Brice,
in hospital, life at home feels unsettled and things become even more strained after her father loses his job, along with his sense of purpose.
Ivy’s worries deepen as her dad fails to cope with his wife’s career success and forms a dubious friendship with recently-divorced Olivia. Her parents might divorce and her best friend hates her but, ever creative, Ivy tries to stay afloat through fantasies, superstitions and pretense.
Set in Northern California in the late 1980s recession, and seen through the eyes of a remarkable little girl, this literary debut is a compelling story, told with humour and compassion, about a family under pressure,
grappling with difficult times.