Zach's Lie

by Roland Smith

Overview

Lies and secrets abound in this dark and suspenseful story about a boy who must run from his past but can’t outrun the danger.
 
Zach Granger’s whole identity is a lie—his name, his hometown, even his eye color. All because of one night that changed everything: The night masked men broke into his house, threatened his family, and ransacked their home. Why? Because his father had been arrested for drug trafficking—and he snitched.

Now in the Witness Security Program, Zach moves to Elko, Nevada, a town in the middle of nowhere. He’s having trouble getting used to this new life when he meets Sam, the strangest custodian at his new school, and Catalin, a girl who might just make his whole uprooting worth it. But just as Zach finally begins to pull himself together, he finds himself in danger again. And this time his actions could determine the fates of everyone he cares about most.
 
With complex characters and heartfelt moments, this story of identity and truth will keep the pages turning.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780786814404
Publisher:	Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication date:	06/01/2003
Series:	Zach's Lie , #1
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	224
Sales rank:	528,781
Product dimensions:	5.25(w) x 7.75(h) x 1.70(d)
Lexile:	650L (what's this?)
Age Range:	10 - 14 Years

About the Author

Roland Smith is a former Zoo Curator and Research Biologist, and a New York Times bestselling author. He has published more than twenty novels for children and young adults, including Peak, Zach’s Lie, and Cryptid Hunters. He and his wife, Marie, who is also an author, live on a small farm near Portland, Oregon.

Editorial Reviews

Explosive but believable ending … An intriguing idea, well-written, with many heart-stopping moments, this should appeal to a wide variety of readers.”—Kirkus Reviews

“Readers are sure to be caught up in Zach's suspenseful adventure.”—Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher

Gr 5-9-In this contemporary suspense novel, Jack's father, a pilot, has been arrested for drug trafficking. When the cartel thugs come to their house to terrorize the teen, his mother, and his sister, they become candidates for the Witness Security Program and must change their identities. Although the family is told not to bring anything to Nevada that would link them to their former lives, Jack, now Zach, cannot leave his diary behind. With the villains searching for them, there can be no slipups, but the young protagonist soon learns that, in the small town of Elko, "Everyone knows Everything about Everybody." The diary and Zach's vulnerability are well-developed devices, but the plot soon becomes compromised by some unbelievable twists and turns. Zach is befriended by the school custodian, Sam, who acts as the principal's assistant, handling disciplinary cases with counseling and boxing therapy. Sam introduces Zach to the Basque people, sheep tenders in the hills outside town, who conveniently provide a hiding place for Zach when the bad guys arrive. In the biggest stretch of all, Sam outwits the thugs with talents he acquired as a KGB agent. Other details and characters merely set up the chain of events, which is unfortunate because individual chapters are often exciting, and there is a great potential to satisfy suspense fans.-Vicki Reutter, Cazenovia High School, NY Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

School Library Journal

The life Jack Osborne knew has just ended. One night the seventh-grader wakes up to find masked men ransacking his house; the next thing he knows, his father has been arrested for drug trafficking. When the accusations against his dad prove true, Jack, his sister Joanne, and his mother enter the FBI's witness protection program. They must leave everything behind and relocate to a small town in Nevada under an assumed identity. Each member of the family deals with this monumental upheaval in a different way. Jack's mother maintains calm composure, while 16-year-old Joanne sees the experience as an opportunity to hone her acting skills. Only Jack, who becomes Zach in his new life, has difficulty adjusting. The contrast between his wealthy former life and the tiny town they are hiding in is stark. He misses his friends, his school, and, above all, his father. Along with this story line, the author includes two interesting subplots. One involves the drug cartel his father was involved in: they have found the family and are preparing to have them killed to prevent Neil's testimony. A second, more richly drawn layer is the inclusion of a large community of Basque people who live nearby in the mountains, continuing their old-fashioned life as shepherds. Jack/Zach makes connections with them and they play a large part in the conclusion of the novel. An explosive but believable ending leaves a few loose ends, but feels satisfying. Jack/Zach is a complex character, struggling with all kinds of emotions about his new life circumstances while also trying to be a normal teenager. An intriguing idea, well-written, with many heart-stopping moments, this should appeal to a wide variety of readers.(Fiction. 12-14)

Kirkus Reviews