In an upscale Australian suburb where image is everything, twelve year old Alice James Blunder treats the internet like a game she can never lose. She loves three things more than anything else in the world: travelling, duck herding, and causing chaos with cleverly crafted “fake news” on Facebook. Online, she is untouchable, a tiny master of mischief with a mind for science and a talent for trouble.

Offline, things are more complicated.

Alice is very short for her age with tan skin, brown hair, sharp brown eyes, and a mouth that often works much faster than her conscience. At Bessie Street School she excels in chemistry and physics, adores her inspiring teacher Miss Johnson, and loathes Mr Knight, a grumpy teacher with smelly pullovers and an even worse attitude. At home she lives with her mother, Anna, a polished and ambitious politician who survives on public approval, constant scrutiny, and coffee.

Anna’s career depends on spotless reputation and carefully controlled information. Alice’s idea of fun is the exact opposite.

The one place where Alice never doubts she is loved is inside her chaotic, overlapping family. Malachi, her eighteen year old full brother, is her closest ally, funny and fiercely protective. Five year old Eva trails after Alice with sticky hands and pure hero worship. Twenty three year old Zac is calm and kind, quietly stepping in whenever conflict flares. Mia, the eldest at twenty eight, is wry, sometimes annoying, always ready with a joke and a reality check. Together they are noisy, loyal, and tight knit, a messy fortress built around a girl who never quite forgave her father for walking out eight years ago.

When a minor argument with her best friend at school bruises Alice’s pride, she decides to play what she thinks is a small, clever prank. Using her friend’s login, Alice fabricates a “leaked” message that appears to come from her mother, Anna. The fake leak claims that Anna secretly despises the very people she represents and is plotting a move that would hurt the school community. To Alice it is just a joke, a bit of drama, a way to sting a friend for a day and feed her craving for digital mischief.

The internet does not treat it like a joke.

The message explodes across Facebook and other platforms, rippling through Bessie Street School, then the entire town. Parents rage. Students whisper. Teachers question their jobs. Reporters circle. Anna’s carefully built public image fractures under the weight of a scandal she never saw coming.

At school, suspicion quickly falls on Alice’s best friend, whose login was used. Screenshots suggest guilt. Adults demand explanations. Friendships twist into accusations. In a single afternoon, a loyal ally becomes the convenient villain in everybody’s story.

Terrified of the consequences and still clinging to the belief that she can control the chaos she started, Alice stays silent. She lets her friend face the blame for a crime she committed. She convinces herself it will blow over, that grown ups will eventually realise it is not real, that no one will actually get hurt.

Then Malachi steps in.

When other students begin picking on Alice at school, convinced she must have pushed her friend into attacking Anna, Malachi shows up to defend his little sister. In the crush of an angry crowd and a heated confrontation, he is injured while shielding Alice from the fallout of her own lie. His pain, and the sight of blood on the pavement, shatters Alice’s illusion that what happens online stays online.

Her prank has harmed the brother who never once turned his back on her.

As the town seethes, Alice’s world tightens. Her fake leak has fuelled wild rumours involving clowns and ducks, two things that should be harmless and silly but instead set off her deepest fears. Old traumas resurface. Her severe phobia of clowns is triggered by cruel memes and thoughtless jokes. Anna’s political enemies weaponise the chaos. Teachers take sides. Her best friend’s parents talk about removing their child from the school entirely.

Pressed by guilt, terrified of losing both her family and her one true friend, Alice faces a choice. She can keep lying, protecting her popularity and her secret at the cost of her brother’s injury, her friend’s reputation, and her mother’s career. Or she can do the one thing she has never willingly done online or off: tell the full, ugly truth and accept every consequence that comes with it.

The climax unfolds in the school assembly hall, packed with students, teachers, and parents. Standing on the stage, knees shaking, Alice gives a speech that could either save or destroy the people she loves. She admits to creating the fake message, stealing her best friend’s login, and watching in silence while everyone blamed the wrong person. She confesses that Malachi was injured because he defended her without knowing she was guilty. She names her own selfishness and fear.

In that painful public moment, Alice begins to grow up.

The Lies of Alice James Blunder follows a sharp, funny, often infuriating twelve year old who learns that cleverness without conscience is a weapon, not a gift. Across five chapters, the story explores:

• How a single “harmless” fake post can spiral into a town wide crisis.
• The shifting, fragile nature of friendship under pressure.
• The fierce love and occasional chaos of a blended family.
• The cost of silence when innocent people are blamed.
• The difficult courage it takes to own your mistakes in front of everyone watching.

Alice’s journey is not about becoming perfect. It is about discovering that responsibility does not kill her spark, it gives it direction. With her mother’s career on the line, her best friend’s trust hanging by a thread, and her brother healing from wounds she caused, Alice finally chooses honesty over popularity and accepts real limits on her online life.

For middle grade and early teen readers who navigate school politics, sibling loyalties, and the unforgiving world of social media, this book offers a fast paced, emotionally charged story where humor and heartache collide. The Lies of Alice James Blunder shows how one small girl, one viral post, and one assembly speech can change the course of a family, a school, and an entire town, all by finally telling the truth.