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Sleeping Freshmen Never Lie

3.88 of 5 stars 3.88 · rating details · 3,895 ratings · 556 reviews

Starting high school is never easy. Seniors take your lunch money. Girls you've known forever are suddenly beautiful and unattainable. And you can never get enough sleep. Could there be a worse time for Scott's mother to announce she's pregnant? Scott decides high school would be a lot less overwhelming if it came with a survival manual, so he begins to write down tips for...more

Paperback, 288 pages

Published January 18th 2007 by Speak (first published July 21st 2005)

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Dec 29, 2009 Amanda rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: everyone!

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Apr 01, 2009 Maggie rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: quarter-3

Scott starts high school. He gets bullied for lunch money and his getting girls aren't that easy neither. All the girls he ever known became drop dead gorgoeus. Scott tries getting the attention from Julia the prettiest freshman girl that all the boys want. High School has loads of homework seems to get him no sleep at all. His mother tell him that she's pregnant. He begins to write tips to his sibling about high school and how he overcomes obstacles so his new sibling would have to go through m...more

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Jun 19, 2011 Sara ♥ rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult, challenge-winter-2008, audiobook, 2008, realistic-fiction, ripped, 2011, humor

June 19, 2011

Super cute! Scott was AWESOME! And I'm just going to say ditto to the stuff I said down there vv because I feel the same way!! :)

December 15, 2008

I'd give it 4.5 if I could.... I'm still working on that.

It was REALLY REALLY CUTE! I REALLY like Scott! He was so cute and nerdy, but in a great way! Just the kind of guy I would have gone for in high school... Of course, it would have been a super-secret crush, and he would never have suspected in a million years. But whatever. The guy w...more June 19, 2011

Super cute! Scott was AWESOME! And I'm just going to say ditto to the stuff I said down there vv because I feel the same way!! :)

December 15, 2008

I'd give it 4.5 if I could.... I'm still working on that.

It was REALLY REALLY CUTE! I REALLY like Scott! He was so cute and nerdy, but in a great way! Just the kind of guy I would have gone for in high school... Of course, it would have been a super-secret crush, and he would never have suspected in a million years. But whatever. The guy was actually a lot like me, except that I was a huge math nerd, not an English nerd. And BOY, are math nerds nerdier!

ANYWAY! Book was cute. I couldn't believe the lengths Scott was willing to go to in order to spend time with Julia, when he couldn't even TALK to her! And, okay, I lied. I was more like Julia, including dating a bad-boy in high school. Except for the being gorgeous thing. I had bad glasses, bad hair, and bad clothes in high school. It's actually painful to think about—like Drew Barrymore in Never Been Kissed. Okay, not that bad. :)

Wow. This is completely off topic. The book was very interesting. It's one thing to read a book where the protagonist is male when it's written by a WOMAN. But it's a complete other thing when the book is actually written by a MAN. So I got some very intriguing insights into the mind of a teenage boy, without it being gross. He was actually a very respectful teenage boy, which is something I'm not used to... :P His mom and dad were great. I loved the whole diary-for-a-fetus thing... :D

I loved the characters of Mouth and Lee. Gosh, Mouth would be my best friend, but I'd be scared to death of Lee (and secretly envious of her green hair). I loved Wesley, too. He was REALLY FUNNY... siphoning gas... holy freaking cow!

Anyway, overall very cute. And I think I'm going to bump it up to 5 stars, as I loved it. Oh, and there are some serious teen issues in the book that Scott handles the best way he knows how... Suicide, bullies, judging people... those kinds of things. It was really good.(less)

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Jun 07, 2009 Victoria rated it 5 of 5 stars

This book might not have been geared toward me (older teenage female), but I loved it.

Scott is just beginning high school, complete with all its pitfalls, scary upperclassmen, pretty girls, loyal and not-so-loyal friends, homework, weird teachers, and everything else. And on top of all that, his parents are expecting another baby.

David Lubar's narration (through Scott) is witty, wise, and spot-on without being stereotypical. Scott's various problems and discoveries about the beautiful Julia, t...more

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Jan 31, 2013 fantace sewell added it

I’ve jus got done reading this book called sleeping freshman never lies. This book is about a boy going to high school as a freshman not really knowing the rules of being a freshman he learns at the middle of the book what not to do and what you should do. The main character is named Scott. Scott had three best friends that he knew all his life been they started to detach from one another.
This book was a mixer of different opinions for me. I liked this book very much because at the beginning Sco...more

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Feb 17, 2009 Heather rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya-reads

I love to read YA literature about guys that are written by guys. I find it to be more entertaining, on the whole, than books about guys written by women. This book didn't disappoint in that regard.

The gimmick of chronicling the lessons learned in school was not too over the top so as to get annoying. Also, the author does a good job of making some surprising characters to be really interesting, and the romance resolution wasn't at all what I thought would have expected. It seems like it's going...more

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Nov 30, 2012 Tristin:) rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 1st-semester-book-reveiws

This book puts a new meaning to the term High School. This drama filled book is funny, while also serious. It has many life lessons in it. My favorite is that life isn’t easy, but you’ve got to keep going. I think this is very true. The main character, Scott Hudson, goes through many challenges in his freshmen year. Some examples are losing his friends, his mom being pregnant(he writes a survial guide for his soon to be sibling), him being in the school paper for sports when he really doesn’t l...more This book puts a new meaning to the term High School. This drama filled book is funny, while also serious. It has many life lessons in it. My favorite is that life isn’t easy, but you’ve got to keep going. I think this is very true. The main character, Scott Hudson, goes through many challenges in his freshmen year. Some examples are losing his friends, his mom being pregnant(he writes a survial guide for his soon to be sibling), him being in the school paper for sports when he really doesn’t like them, learning to cope with more homework and not getting enough sleep, and trying to get noticed by the girl he likes. It also touches on a serious topic, suicide. In the book Louden, or as he’s called Mouth, tries to kill himself. Although they we’re never really friends, Scott goes to visit him in the hospital and later writes letters to him after he moves. This is a great book that touches many of the subjects of high school from heartache to happiness.
This book related to my life in many ways. For starts I’m a freshman. I’m also learning to adjust to high school. Making sure I wear my ID and get all my homework done. Not to mention getting just about no sleep. Also, since I’m a trainer I have to go to football games, although they’re not as pain full to watch, and soon I will be start basketball. I also face the challenge of losing friends it sucks, but I’ve learned to make new ones. Also Scott has advanced English and so do I.
Yes, I would recommend this book to my friends. Around sixty-five percent of my friends are freshmen. This touches the challenges of staring high school. Which most of my friends can relate too. The book is bittersweet and funny. The many different topics can relate to a variety of people. Also my friends and I are a lot alike and I believe they would enjoy this book as Much as I did.
In the story, Scott’s English class talks about different point of views of stories. At the begging of the chapter the author starts out with third-person limited then changes to omniscient, then second- person and finally it goes back to first person. I thought it was a neat way to show the reader the different types as if they were in the class room. During the course of the story Scott has a goal to get noticed by Julia. He goes into newspaper, because he overheard Julia talking about an article she wrote for it. It turns out she was writing the guest column that week. Then he tries out of student council, because Julia was running for president. He makes it and she doesn’t. Then later in the year he quits student council because he doesn’t feel like any one would miss him. Then Julia becomes the president .Finally he tries out to be in the school play because Julia is going to try out. He doesn’t make it, but agrees to be a part of the stage crew. Only to later find out Julia didn’t make it. I think this is a great example of irony. I would recomend this book to anyone who is starting highschool and just needs a laugh.
(less)

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Oct 17, 2012 Ann rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: five-stars-of-awesome

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I've read this book cover-to-cover about six or seven times since I first read it earlier this year and it has officially become my go-to-book when I want something to read.

It revolves around Scott, who is entering his freshmen year of high school with his three best friends, Patrick, Kyle, and Mitch. When he gets there he decides to pursue his crush on Julia, a fellow classmate. This leads to things like being fresh meat in the drama club, school elections, and more. Along the way he meets char...more I've read this book cover-to-cover about six or seven times since I first read it earlier this year and it has officially become my go-to-book when I want something to read.

It revolves around Scott, who is entering his freshmen year of high school with his three best friends, Patrick, Kyle, and Mitch. When he gets there he decides to pursue his crush on Julia, a fellow classmate. This leads to things like being fresh meat in the drama club, school elections, and more. Along the way he meets characters like resident bully Wesley, new "freaky" girl Lee (who later becomes a major character, but I don't want to spoil too much), and Mouth, who...well, who just doesn't shut up.

Scott is one of my top five favorite book characters for several reasons, the main reason probably being that he's not the generic teenager that I see in a lot of YA books featuring a guy main character, especially in first person narrative.

He's not the stereotypical football-playing, skateboarding guy who sits around and belches all day and only cares about winning whatever championship or the current score of whatever sport on TV (I could but won't name a few well-meaning but ill-conceived books featuring such male characters). But at the same time he's not the ultra-quiet and mega-sensitive deep-thinker either. He's both - minus the belching, for the most part - and that makes for a likable three-dimensional character.

Another thing I liked is that the rest of the characters, even secondary characters who don't appear much, were developed just as fully as the main character for once. In a lot of books secondary characters have personality but nothing really behind it. In Sleeping Freshmen Never Lie, every character seemed to be given the same amount of development time, which made for an interesting and well-sculpted cast.

As for the comedic value of the book itself, the level of humor and wit isn't really found in a ton of YA books (well, at least not the ones I've been reading). Scott is sarcastic and satirical and subtle at the same time because he isn't just constantly throwing in jokes at the ends of paragraphs to add humor. His entire outlook on certain things is funny and yeah, the little digs come with it, but not thrown in your face like a lot of other authors do.

So overall, I give this book five stars because it keeps me reading every time, it's never fails to be laugh-out-loud funny, and it was well-written throughout. Not to mention it introduced me to the wonderful world of Tom Swifties.(less)

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Apr 07, 2012 Dawn added it

Dawn States
Humor

Sleeping Freshman Never Lie is a funny and true title about coming of age in a crowded high school with preoccupied friends and family. The book is hilarious and smart, with the main character using words like “imputation” and “garrulous” making it a good read for young adults that feel like being smart will label them a “nerd”. It lightheartedly pokes fun at some of the troubles freshman in high school face and provides advice on how to laugh and deal with these problems.
Scot...more

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Feb 07, 2012 Paulina Alexis rated it 4 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Bad teachers, scary bullies, popular kids, and outcasts. If you’re looking for a book of High School cliches, Sleeping Freshmen Never Lie will have them. Thankfully, that little fact is easily inferable by just checking out the summary on the back.
In the story, we learn of freshman Scott Hudson’s struggles of being at the bottom of the social ladder while he tries to cope with a huge change in his life. In other words: living the typical life of a freshman. Hudson just doesn’t have any of the lu...more Bad teachers, scary bullies, popular kids, and outcasts. If you’re looking for a book of High School cliches, Sleeping Freshmen Never Lie will have them. Thankfully, that little fact is easily inferable by just checking out the summary on the back.
In the story, we learn of freshman Scott Hudson’s struggles of being at the bottom of the social ladder while he tries to cope with a huge change in his life. In other words: living the typical life of a freshman. Hudson just doesn’t have any of the luck, it seems. Everything in Scott’s life spirals out of control on the first day. He gets the worst type of bus driver, loses his way in the hallways, failed to find familiar faces in his classes, and receives a boatload of homework. If that doesn’t sound bad enough for this poor kid, he also gets greeted with news of his mom’s pregnancy as soon as he arrives home. And horrifically enough, he later becomes infatuated with his kindergarten-buddy-gone-goddess and gets involved with the weird new kid at school. But as he scrambles to make it through his first year of high school, he decides to keep a journal (not a diary, because “Guys don’t keep diaries. No way.”) for his future little brother or sister to give him/her (and us) a good idea of what he/she (and we) should expect out of high school. This isn’t just a book anymore, it’s a survival guide.
Most would think there are far too many cliches in Lubar’s Sleeping Freshmen to be considered enjoyable, but I would disagree. The cliches are well put and transitional. We have the misunderstood weird kid, the scary bully that has a soft side, the gorgeous girl who falls for the wrong guy, the best friend that turns into the biggest jerk, and the extremely cool and chill teacher. Of course, we can’t forget the main character, the awkward outcast that undoubtedly becomes the lovable loser. These characters become involved with each other in the most ridiculous ways and it becomes a social war, like we just stepped into the movie theater showing the film. You can practically hear the extras who played the other students of J.P. Zenger High screaming at the big screen every time something extremely predictable from a tale about high school occurs. But even though we all know there’s gonna be a happy ending where the kid grows out of his insecurities and becomes the kid everybody can’t help but love, everyone in the metaphorical theater will be cheering as the last words are uttered and the curtains come to a close (the curtains being the book, of course).
Author David Lubar does a perfect job of mashing possibly every single High School cliche in less than three hundred pages. Despite all the cliched scenarios and characters, there’s a good message in there: “Flux rox.” As his story progresses, the main character learns to cope with the dramatic changes while abusing his role as the narrator to share what he learned in both life and in English class. Throughout the entire novel, there’s one point that stands out the most: it does suck now, but it’ll get better. Scott makes it through practically everything being thrown at him: losing his friends, being afraid, student council elections, a friend attempting suicide, not getting the girl he’d been pining for since the first day, his mother’s pregnancy, being subjected to the sadism of the stage crew, and being threatened and backstabbed.
These constant lessons and familiar tunes make Sleeping Freshmen such a great read. For incoming high school students, it’s a good way to shake off the fear that hell is coming. For current freshmen, it’s a great basic guide for this bittersweet year of high school. And for anybody past the horrors of ninth grade, it’s a nice way to help us look back and shudder at all the embarrassing stunts we pulled and facepalm at the stupid things we did. Whether we need advice on getting the girl, are searching for help with dealing with a bully, desperately want some assistance with writing an essay or article, or just want a good read, you can never go wrong with picking up Sleeping Freshmen Never Lie.(less)

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Jan 26, 2012 Nshslibrary rated it 1 of 5 stars

When I saw the cover and title, the only thing I wanted to do was to read the book. Now the only thing I want to do is warn other people not to read the book. David Lubar’s Sleeping Freshmen Never Lie successfully bored me to death with its magnificently dull plot. Firstly, the author’s style is horrendous. The main character, Scott Hudson, is an average kid with nothing special about him. Dedicated solely to depict Scott’s journey throughout freshmen year, this book is terrible. I personally de...more

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Jan 04, 2012 Melanie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Scott Hudson is just beginning his freshmen year at Zenger High School. At first Scott's biggest concerns are avoiding head slaps on the bus, getting enough sleep, and managing his massive homework load. Scott is hoping that he and his three best friends Mitch, Patrick, and Kyle will be like the 3 Muskateers (remember there were actually 4 of them too!) and will stick together to brave the new world of high school. Unfortunately for Scott, Mitch gets a girlfriend, Patrick moves to Texas, and Kyl...more Scott Hudson is just beginning his freshmen year at Zenger High School. At first Scott's biggest concerns are avoiding head slaps on the bus, getting enough sleep, and managing his massive homework load. Scott is hoping that he and his three best friends Mitch, Patrick, and Kyle will be like the 3 Muskateers (remember there were actually 4 of them too!) and will stick together to brave the new world of high school. Unfortunately for Scott, Mitch gets a girlfriend, Patrick moves to Texas, and Kyle joins the wrestling team, leaving Scott...well friendless, and more importantly, without a place to sit at lunch.

Luckily for Scott, his attempts to woo Julia (a girl he forgot about after Kindergarten but is now super hot) keep him really busy. In Scott's attempts to be near Julia, he ends up writing for the school paper, on student council, and working on the school play. Life becomes increasingly complicated for Scott when his parents make a surprising, life-changing announcement and a kid from school tries to commit suicide. Balancing all of his obligations while still trying to have time for a life, Scott gives readers and authentic peek at the life of the male high school freshmen.

Maybe I should have asked him if he was okay...But he would probably have lied
too. That's what guys do. If someone cut my head off, the last words
whistling through my throat as my face plunged toward the floor would be,
"I' m fine."
(p.28)

I've never read any of David Lubar's other books, so I can't say how they compare, but I truly enjoyed the laugh-out-loud lines he gave to Scott. Similar to Stephen Chbosky's The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Scott shows readers a great deal through the letters he writes and the field-guide manual-style lists he frequently jots down. With a true talent for writing and a passion for reading, Scott is an English teacher's dream. (And he's got us figured out too, check out "Scott Hudson's Guide to Teacher Types" on page 82).

Overall, Scott grows and changes during his freshmen year, finding friendship in unlikely places and showing readers that even the smart kids have to learn some lessons the hard way. I can't wait to recommend this book to my students and friends!

Classroom Use:
Students could compose their own field guide-style lists for high school like Scott does. Students could also write character journal entries from the perspectives of Bobby, Lee, Julia, Mouth, Patrick, and many of the other supporting characters. A mock Zenger High School newspaper would be a great group project for students as well. Scott also spends a lot of time talking about elements of language such as couplets and Tom Swifties which could be useful to students.

Rec: Grades 8-10

Grade: B+(less)

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Dec 13, 2011 Carolyn Roys rated it 4 of 5 stars

I'm into the smirk-worthy books but this one gives this ex-English teacher's heart a jolt. Scott is beginning his freshman year and to his horror, finds out his mom is preggers. If all the trials and tribulations of freshman year weren't enough, he has a little brother on the way. He writes a psuedo diary with advice for the glob of goo and often threatens to sell him. What Scott doesn't understand is everything he has going for him and after many smirk-worthy situations, he is told that his lif...more

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Nov 10, 2011 Thiago rated it 4 of 5 stars

I truthfully enjoyed reading Sleeping Freshmen Never Lie, by David Libar. The book talks about a boy entering high school and gaining a new membrane of his family, a brother or sister.It tell us all of the new challenge high school brings like new and old friends, harder classes and a high school crush. School will make a lot of big change, some good others not so much.

Scott the main character in the book is throw in the new life of a high school freshmen. At the beginning of the story there are...more

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Sep 14, 2011 Riley Conway rated it 4 of 5 stars

In Sleeping Freshmen Never Lie by David Lubar, we’re reminded that high school is exhausting. In addition to homeworking and fretting about becoming a big brother, Scott writes for the school paper, serves (briefly) on the student council, and works behind the scenes for the all-school play. Poor kid hardly has time to sleep.

Endearing, sympathetic, and clever (without being too clever), Scott narrates the ins and outs of his first year of high school—the loss of his three childhood friends (to g...more In Sleeping Freshmen Never Lie by David Lubar, we’re reminded that high school is exhausting. In addition to homeworking and fretting about becoming a big brother, Scott writes for the school paper, serves (briefly) on the student council, and works behind the scenes for the all-school play. Poor kid hardly has time to sleep.

Endearing, sympathetic, and clever (without being too clever), Scott narrates the ins and outs of his first year of high school—the loss of his three childhood friends (to girls, wrestlers, and Texas), the pursuit of his kindergarten chum (who’s become the cutest girl in ninth grade), the awkward dances in which all the guys stand to one side waiting for the painful ordeal to end, and his accidental friendships with a senior bully and a girl everyone calls a freak. The movement through the novel is spot on. We cover an entire school year in 280 pages, breezing through when we can, slowing when we need to focus on important moments. Scott is reflective, but not distractingly so. We understand Scott in the way that he speaks to and interacts with others, NOT by him TELLING us who he thinks he is.

One of the most charming elements of the novel is the relationship Lubar establishes between Scott and his unborn kid brother. He writes him letters, telling him about school, offering him advice and reflections about his own mistakes and misfortunes. What’s great is that Scott is able to write these things to his baby brother (who may or may not actually ever see the letters) that he doesn’t feel he can say to his dad, older brother, or former best friends. Guys don’t talk about feelings. Scott, although sometimes suspicious, and even jealous, of this strange thing growing in Mom’s belly, obviously cares about him. And his scrawling to the little alien helps him understand his own world a little better.

Finally, Lubar does a fine job with the classroom scenes—especially English class. Not only does he authentically depict interactions between students in class (when the teacher’s not looking), but he presents a teacher that all book lovers dream about having. Also, Lubar cleverly works discussions about the elements of craft into his text. For example, Scott narrates the beginning of chapter twenty-six from first-, second-, and third-person during the class’s discussion of viewpoint. This sequence is a perfect example of how Scott (and Lubar) manages to be quite clever without being gimmicky or over-the-top.

Recommended for boys, ages 13-15. (less)

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Aug 11, 2011 Karin rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: funny, realistic, romance, books-for-boys, young-adult-fiction, high-school, friendship, relationships, families, self-help, self-discovery, borrowed-from-the-library

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Scott is a freshman in high school and he’s discovering new things every day - how to avoid getting smacked on the head, kicked when he bends over, hit up for his spare change, and do his homework while still managing to get some sleep. It’s a bit of an adjustment for him. Plus, there’s this girl, Julia, he’s known since forever, and after the summer she comes back drop-dead gorgeous and Scott can’t stop thinking about her. While working up the courage to just say, ‘hi,’ he ends up signing up fo...more

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Jun 03, 2011 Rebecca rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya

another YA novel. this time, written by a man about a boy. Wwll written, but I didn't like the protag very much. He was a dork, had non-dork friends that drifted away during their first year of high school. But somehow the dork protag still did stuff you would never do in high school. And the new, weird goth girl he befriends makes fun of him because all he cares about is fitting in. I don't know about your school, but dorks stayed dorks, drama people stayed drama people and newspaper people sta...more

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May 28, 2011 Peep (Pop! Pop!) rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: everyone

Recommended to Peep (Pop! Pop!) by: Heidi (awesome group member)

Shelves: clean-enough, kids, read-in-2011, tis-funny, addicted-to-ya, family-listening, audio-goodness

I was surprised that I liked this one so much. It was fun and enjoyable. I think this is the first time I have listened to full cast audio. It is an experience that should not be missed!

I enjoyed the main narrator. I thought he did an excellent job at bringing out Scott's personality. Some of my favorite parts were the notes that he left for someone who was not there yet. Every time one of Scott's attempts to be around Abby failed, I cringed! Poor little dude! I guess it wasn't so bad though. S...more

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May 03, 2011 Sonya Huser rated it 3 of 5 stars

I got this book prior to meeting the author at OVHS for their annual author visit. It was a little different from the typical awkward teenage boy book. I liked that the main character embraces his nerdiness. He's a well read kid and talks a lot about the books he's reading and the books he's read. Somehow, you don't come across as many well-read characters in books as you would suspect.
The book covers his freshmen year of high school. He ends up losing one friend to his first girlfriend, anothe...more

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Oct 24, 2010 Lupe rated it 5 of 5 stars

I can absolutely and genuinely say that I love this book! It is so incredibly easy to relate to Scott. I read this book last year when I myself, was a freshman. All the experiences that he went through, I can guarantee that all teens have too(including me). I loved the way that Scott sounded just like any average teenage guy! Like Scott, I have a passion for reading, and would love to write book reviews for school. The only difference is that I'm a girl. There are so many great things I can say...more

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Nov 09, 2009 Terri rated it 5 of 5 stars

Young adult literature continues to surprise and amaze me. I did not expect to like this book. I equated the cover, the title, and the author with the "Revenge of the Mutant Zombie" fare that Lubar decries in "Sleeping Freshmen Never Lie." Imagine my pleasure when I found a smart, funny read with many important messages for teens.

Scott Hudson, a freshman in high school, is struggling to figure out who he is, what he is good at, where he belongs, and who his friends are. Throughout his freshman...more Young adult literature continues to surprise and amaze me. I did not expect to like this book. I equated the cover, the title, and the author with the "Revenge of the Mutant Zombie" fare that Lubar decries in "Sleeping Freshmen Never Lie." Imagine my pleasure when I found a smart, funny read with many important messages for teens.

Scott Hudson, a freshman in high school, is struggling to figure out who he is, what he is good at, where he belongs, and who his friends are. Throughout his freshman year he obsesses over fellow freshman, Julia. On his father's advice he vows to be wherever she is. He runs for student council because he figures she is a shoe-in. He makes it, she doesn't. He joins the staff of the school paper when he hears her talking about going to a meeting. He finds out she is only doing a guest gig, and he is stuck covering sports for the entire school year. He tries out for the play because Julia does. He sings horribly in his audition; she like a bird. He is asked to be on the stage crew. She doesn't make it. And on and on. In the end, he discovers that the most attractive thing about a person is not what is on the outside. It is being true to oneself. In the midst of all of this is a mom who is pregnant (he writes to his sibling to be in a journal), a brother who he discovers can't read, friends who are deserting him, a suicidal acquaintance, and a unique girl. There are sports, cars, fights, books and more books. It is full to the brim with high interest elements teens will love.

What I like most about the book is how smart it is. It is truly an ode to books and reading. The literary allusions abound. There are a plethora of titles enthusiastically referred to here that readers can move on to once they finish "Sleeping Freshmen Never Lie." Lubar refers to all sorts of literary devices and gives wonderful examples of each. The "Tom Swifties" are fun, and the discussion of point of view in Chapter 26 is fabulous. The use of vocabulary makes the book an ACT/SAT study guide. This book is an English Teacher's dream!

In addition, positive lessons abound here. Some might object because there are so many themes that the author does not give enough time to any of them. I would disagree. I think Lubar admirably and adequately covers important teen issues such as bullying, friendship, dating, suicide, loss, birth, education, reading, and so on.

Finally, the characters are memorable. It is so refreshing to see adult characters who are present and positives in the lives of teens. And who could ever forget Lee, Mouth, and Wesley? They are all believable and distinctly drawn - and unforgettable.

Kudos to Lubar! This is a great teen read!

(less)

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Jun 03, 2009 Cui rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: quarter-4

This book's title Freshmen gave me a question what do they mean by sleeping freshmen, since I was a freshmen it was kinda hard for me to not pick up this book and open it. Scott Hudson is a typical highschool freshmen who just got into highschool and like us, have to deal with different aspects of highschool like maintaining your grades, dealing with bullies, making new friends and much more and keeping your love secrets down. Scott was unpopular when he first enters highschool and slowly gains...more

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Jan 04, 2013 Teslarosie rated it 3 of 5 stars

Sleeping Freshmen Never Lie by David Lubar is based upon the life of a boy who is just starting high school when he receives the shock of a lifetime. Here, let me clarify a little bit: Scott Hudson's mother is having a baby, and he is (for lack of a better word) apprehensive about the "stomach virus" that is surely getting ready to ruin his life. To add to the excitement of the traditionally terrifying freshman experience, Julia, a girl whom he has known since preschool has suddenly become the m...more

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May 30, 2012 Sophie rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites, recommended-for-trisha

Reccommended for: Anyone who can remember their freshmen year, or is in their freshmen year, or is about to start freshmen year. Or really just anybody who enjoys a good teen angst story with lots of awkward moments.

Wow, this book was... amazing, thoroughly entertaining, awesome, and irrefutibly stupendous (oh yeah, vocab words). My favorite parts were in his journal(NOT A DIARY)entries when he would come up with new, disgusting sounding nicknames for (spoiler)the new baby(/spoiler). I also real...more

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Apr 13, 2012 Jillian rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Anyone looking for a humorous novel

This novel was amazing. It was about Scott Hudson, a freshman in high school who is learning the ropes about his school. His older brother, Bobby, won't give him advice on how to survive in the school, and when Scott finds out that his mom is pregnant, he starts to write in a journal every so often telling his new sibling about what to do and what not to do in high school. Scott loses some friends, meets new (and unexpected) ones, and does some crazy things throughout his year as a freshmen, but...more

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Jun 04, 2010 Karen Keyte rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: teen-boys-realistic

Freshman year - seniors 'asking' for spare change, homework that keeps you up until 2 in the morning, spanish teachers that are completely incomprehensible, gym class that is absolute torture. And oh yeah, a pregnant mother. Welcome to the hilarious world of Scott Hudson.

Sleeping Freshman Never Lie chronicles Scott's first year of high school as he deals with girls, bullies and struggling to fit in. Interspersed throughout the book is a journal Scott has started for his yet-to-be-born sibling -...more

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Dec 22, 2010 Erica rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobook, growing-up, real-life-fiction, unengaging, ya

I liked this story more than I liked the audiobook production.
I found the book charming and refreshing, in that it hearkens back to a time before every literary teenager was angst-ridden and orphaned and/or abused. It's about a normal kid with normal anxieties navigating his first year of high school. I hope "kids these days" (I love that I can say that, now) are as thoughtful, compassionate and able to learn from life experiences as Scott was.
The audiobook, however, is not as engaging. I didn'...more

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Jun 24, 2009 Sam Kim rated it 5 of 5 stars

It is a must-read book for you freshmen out there, which is y I read it.

David clearly told a story of an average (well not really) smart freshie that tries to survive in high school.

Friendships are both made and lost...

Problems arise in school and family...

Choices are both made and ignored...

It says it all: bullies, girlfriends, dances, councils and newspapers, drama plays, students committing suicide or in hospital, goths, swearings, awful gym lessons, you name it.

As you read it, you will encou...more

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Nov 11, 2012 Jessica rated it 4 of 5 stars

“Sleeping Freshman Never Lie” by David Lubar, is a funny book that is relatable for any freshman. Everyone is terrified going into their first day of high school and Scott Hudson is no different. Scott has an instant crush on Julia as soon as he sees her, and begins to wonder how girls change so much over a few years. He wonders if she even remembers how they shared peanut butter crackers together in kindergarten. He spends the entire year making various attempts to be with and talk to her throu...more

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Aug 29, 2012 Terri Garlick rated it 3 of 5 stars

This was chosen as the summer read of my mother daughter book group, the Sunshine Girls. The group formed when the girls were going into 4th grade, and now they're freshmen at high school, so it was an appropriate choice.

I must admit that I wasn't excited by the cover, or the first three chapters, but was hooked by the 4th or 5th and really wanted to see what happened to Scott, the main character starting high school in PA.

The book is cliche with characters like the jock, the hood, the older br...more

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About David Lubar

David Lubar created a sensation with his debut novel, Hidden Talents, an ALA Best Book for Young Adults. Thousands of kids and educators across the country have voted Hidden Talents onto over twenty state lists. David is also the author of True Talents, the sequel to Hidden Talents; Flip, an ALA Best Book for Young Adults and a VOYA Best Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror selection; several short...more

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“See Scott run,
Run Scott run.
See Scott die,
No such luck.” — 24 people liked it

“Reciprocity is not mandatory.” — 6 people liked it

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