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Gr 5 Up–Ajay Anthonipillai was known as “Obnoxious Ajay” at his old school for being obsessed with his grades. So when he starts eighth grade at a new school, he is determined to change, until he receives a 79% on his English assignment. His Tamil parents’ rules state that he can only get straight A’s so in a panic of disappointing them, he lies. Things spiral out of control when he tries to impress the cool kid at school by stealing a chocolate bar and there is a million-dollar prize inside. Ajay worries about the consequences of stealing, so he starts working part-time for the store owner, Scary Al, to wipe away any evidence (and guilt). As the lies pile up, Ajay struggles with whether to confess his lies to his parents and what to do about the million-dollar prize sitting in his wallet. Marianayagam is excellent at establishing the characters of Ajay and his family, especially his relationship with sister Aarthi. Even minor characters are fleshed out and have an impact on Ajay’s growth. Ajay’s parents immigrated from Sri Lanka to a mostly white neighborhood, which adds another aspect to Ajay’s experience that children of immigrants will be able to relate to. The author parallels Ajay’s journey with Robert Frost poems and uses Ajay’s karate journal as a great way of expressing his emotions.