The Secret Identity of Devon Delaney

Lauren Barnholdt

May 2010 · Simon and Schuster

About this ebook

Mom says karma always comes around to get you, and I guess it's true. Because last summer I was a total liar, and now, right in the middle of Mr. Pritchard's third-period math class, my whole world is about to come crashing down.

That's because while Devon was living with her grandmother for the summer, she told her "summer friend," Lexi, that she was really popular back home and dating Jared Bentley, only the most popular guy at school. Harmless lies, right? Wrong. Not when Lexi is standing at the front of Devon's class, having just moved to Devon's town. Uh-oh.

Devon knows there's only one way to handle this -- she'll just have to become popular! But how is Devon supposed to accomplish that when she's never even talked to Jared, much less dated him?! And it seems the more Devon tries to keep up her "image," the more things go wrong. Her family thinks she's nuts, her best friend won't speak to her, and, as if it's not all complicated enough, Jared starts crushing on Lexi and Devon starts crushing on Jared's best friend, Luke. It all has Devon wondering -- who is the real Devon Delaney?

Ratings and reviews

This book is about Devon Delaney,the girl who has constantly wished to be one of the popular girls. When Devon's friend from the neighborhood her grandma lives in, Lexi, comes to school.....Devon feels awful. During the summer they spent together Devon had told Lexi some serious lies. According to Lexi, Devon is the most popular girl at school. She dates Jared, the most cutest boy at school. And she only wears designer clothes. So what's a girl to do? With the help of her best friend Melissa, Devon tries to pull off her lies in order to spare Lexi's feelings. Kim,the leader of the popular kids, welcomes Lexi and Devon with open arms. Becoming popular starts to ruin Devon's old life. Melissa won't talk to her, Jared and Lexi are falling for each other, and Devon's lies are keeping her and Jared's friend Luke,from dating. To make matters worse, Kim is stealing Lexi and Devon's so-called boyfriends. So what should Devon do? As they always say..... The truth will set you free.

My favorite book, ever. I had a other favorite book, but when I read this it pushed it off my shelf. I read it like 5 billion times (exaggeration only like 20), I deprived myself of sleep to read it over and over and over again(not pretty). Devon: She lies to her "summer friend" and karma comes to nip her in the butt. Lexi, her "summer friend" moves to Devon's town and now Devon has to live up to all those lies. Like the her hot and popular boyfriend Jared, and she is so popular. Truth be totally, THAT'S A LIE. Lexi: Super popular and cute. Practically every guy wants her, including Jared. That causes trouble for Devon. But someone else has the hots for her. Lexi, starts inviting her to everything and makes Devon live the part. But conflicts happen. Jared: Like Lexi, is super cute and is asking for Devon's help to get to Lexi. Talk about awkward. Luke: Has the hots for Devon, but finds out something like how she has a crush on Jared, which totally changed and the only reason that happened was because she had to keep her image up. Awesome story...sorry if I spoiled anything. :P

What happens at your grandma's house, stays at your grandma's house, right? Well, that's what Devon Delaney thought when she spent the summer before seventh grade away at her grandmother's. She figured there would be no harm in telling her new summer friend, Lexi, that back home she was popular and dating the coolest guy in school. After all, Lexi lived far away and would never know the truth. Plus, it gave Devon the chance to spend two whole months living out the fantasy of being part of the A-list crowd, calling herself "Devi" and wearing lots of cute new clothes. But Devon's real life comes crashing down the following school year when Lexi moves to town unexpectedly. Devon knows she has to come clean and confess to Lexi, but she keeps putting it off. In order to keep Lexi from finding out the truth, Devon has to pretend to be the popular "Devi" and make up even more lies to explain why she barely speaks to her gorgeous "boyfriend," Jared. Meanwhile, Devon's real-life best friend, Melissa, is getting fed up with Devon spending all of her time with the new girl, Lexi. Is it possible that Devon is trying so hard to be popular that she'll end up with no friends at all? THE SECRET IDENTITY OF DEVON DELANEY is a fun, fast-paced book. It does a nice job of contrasting the lives and interactions of the "popular crowd" at Devon's school with those of the not-so-popular kids. Devon and her best friend, Melissa, are not exactly riding the top rung of the social ladder, and it's amusing to read how Lexi, the new girl, shows up at school and slides seamlessly in with the A-list crew. Devon is stunned by the ease with which her new friend does that. It's something Devon had dreamed of doing, but never knew where to start. I enjoyed this book and was satisfied by the ending, but by about mid-way through the story, I wanted to scream at Devon. She kept burying herself deeper and deeper in lies in order to keep her initial falsehoods concealed. If she had simply admitted to Lexi what had happened in the first place, everything would have been fine. But things just went from bad to worse, with Devon's decisions getting more and more ridiculous as time went on. That was my biggest complaint about the book, although perhaps making the reader scream with frustration was intentional on the author's part. It helps show how even one little lie can spin out of control. Finally, THE SECRET IDENTITY OF DEVON DELANEY seems like it would appeal primarily to girl readers, and the book cover says it's geared to readers ages 9 through 13, which seems about right. I highly recommend it for that audience, especially for readers who enjoy a funny story that reminds us about how important it is to stay true to who we are.

About the author

Lauren Barnholdt is the author of the teen novels The Thing About the Truth, Sometimes It Happens, One Night That Changes Everything, Two-way Street, Right of Way, and Watch Me. She is also the author of the middle grade novels The Secret Identity of Devon Delaney, Devon Delaney Should Totally Know Better, Four Truths and a Lie, Rules for Secret-Keeping, Fake Me a Match, and the Girl Meets Ghost series. She lives in Waltham, Massachusetts. Visit her at LaurenBarnholdt.com.