Izzy desperately wants to give her mum something special for her birthday. Brother Andrew has thought of a wonderful gift, and Izzy tells her first lie when she says she has something special too. Family relationships are important in this story: Izzy with older brother Andrew, Izzy with baby sister Grace, who must share her room and is a pest. Their parents are loving but ordinary in Izzy's eyes, and she longs to give her mum something to make her sparkle. The perfect opportunity seems to arise when Izzy finds a promotion letter in the dustbin, promising huge prizes and jewels to those who enter. Naively, she believes the promises, and so begins a series of lies which leads ultimately to near tragedy when Andrew is injured. A good adventure story showing strong family relationships and the consequences of lieing. The 'lie spider' has a paragraph at the end of each chapter telling how he is lying in wait for Izzy - a rather unnecessary device.