A novel set in New York City by an award-winning author is sure to be of interest, and this one is in spades! Georges and his parents have had to move from their house into an apartment because dad has lost his job. This means mom must work overtime as a nurse in the hospital and so Georges rarely sees her. When he meets another boy who live in the apartment building too, they become good friends even though Georges finds 'Safer' rather unusual. They are both in the 7th grade, but Safer is schooled at home, as is his younger sister Candy. When Safer begins to demand that George helps him with spying on a man upstairs that Safer believes may be a spy, things become very ticklish indeed - and even illegal! I cannot give away the surprising and wonderfully inventive end of this story, but it all involves fears of different sorts, the fact that things are not at all what they seem to be, that major bullying comes into it, that friends can be friends for different reasons, and that there is a happy ending! Read it! It's brilliant!