This is my 10 yr old little brother's favorite book. I get so excited that he loves to read! He kept talking about this one and how much he liked it, so I bought him a copy for his birthday. He asked me if I would like to read it too, so I did. It was a cute little story about two best friends who like the same girl. The main character, Simon is a nice, likeable guy who seems to block himself in a little bit from the troubles of his life. His best friend, Tony, is a compulsive liar who tries to make trouble for Simon and Cybil. He makes up stories and does what he can to upset people in general, and basically tries to make life miserable for as many people as he can. It feels almost typical of kids that age (like 4th grade) but Tony seems pretty harsh, although that might be more because he is placed next to nice-guy Simon. At one point, a character is talking to Tony and calls him 'juvenille' and another comments that he will spend his whole life blaming the negative pieces on things outside of his control. 'It wasn't my fault, it's because the desk was unlucky' etc. I think that sums him up quite well. I didn't much care for the way the characters were written. I believe I would have liked this book a lot more if I had read it when I was younger. The characters were all pretty flat. I felt like there were moments when Byars tried to add depth to the characters but it never really worked. It was a cute story for younger kids, but doesn't really hold up well for the older audience.
Simon has been in love with Cybil for three years, but now his best friend Tony seems to have his heart set on Cybil too. Tony, a loud, crude, habitual liar thinks that the best way to get a girl's attention is to insult her physical appearance and then claim to be repeating what Simon has said in private. This puts Simon in uncomfortable positions and leads to the Cybil War, an undeclared battle for the attention and affection of Cybil.It's a good story, ringing with a quiet truth rare to find in novels aimed at middle elementary-schoolers. Byars never condescends. She allows her character to proclaim his love for a classmate and then she reminds us of what that felt like at that age. There's more to this story, because Byars develops her characters well. The reason Tony and Simon are friends in the first place, we discover, is that they have something very sad in common. We root against Tony and when Simon gets angry at his behavior, we get angry right along with him, but Byars doesn't let us think of him only in two-dimensional terms.The book is a short 126 pages and a quick read, but it is a deep 126 pages. There's a lot to discuss here with young readers who are lucky enough to discover it. I regret that I was 40 before I got to read it, but am pleased to have read it now. Highly recommended. Thanks, Cindy!
What do You think about The Cybil War (1990)?
3.5 interesting. Was not really a war but more like a fight over the girl. Very quick and easy for good readers. I thought that it was a little weird to make a book that was all over a girl..... Then agai I picked this one up cause Brayers is one of my favorite authors. Was not THAT impressed-- sorry Betsy
—Emily
