Victor from Seventh Grade lies to impress his love interest, Teresa. By way of example, on page 120 Soto states, “Victor raised his hand, wanting to impress Teresa.” Instead of just keeping quiet and learning French like he was supposed to or to use to impress Teresa, he makes a fool out of himself. In Thirteen And A Half, Ashley’s mother lied to keep her happy. Such as, on page four, the author reveals, “...but the darn bird died a few weeks after we got him...I didn’t want to start explaining death to a three year old… .” Since she did not want to hurt Ashley, she just went out and kept buying birds. In conclusion, both stories have a moral that has a powerful message. They both share the theme of just tell the truth. While Ashley’s mother lies to Teresa, Victor lies to impress Teresa. These stories are different because the characters lie for different