Zach's lie

Smith, R. (2001).  Zach's lie. New York, NY: Hyperion Paperbacks for Children.

Interest Level: Grades 5-7

Reading Level: 4+

Jack Osbourne's life was that of a typical middle class teenager until the night the men came to kill his family. Jack's dad is a pilot and owns his own plane, but it turns out that rather than transporting people like the family thought, his dad was running drugs. His dad has agreed to testify against the cartel that he was working for and that has put his family at risk. The family is now a candidate for the Witness Protection Program and Jack becomes Zach. Although they were told to leave anything that could tie them to their past behind, Jack takes his journal with him to their new home in Elko, Nevada. The family settles in nicely in Elko- or as nicely as can be when every part of their old life is gone and they all have new identities to learn. But when quotes from Zach's diary begin to show up on classroom whiteboards Zach knows the cartel has found them and they are no longer safe.

This is a suspenseful and high-action book. Readers will be able to empathize with Zach as they wonder what it would be like to change everything about themselves- their name, hair and eye color, family history, location and their past. There are some times where it's necessary as an adult to suspend belief such as when it's revealed that Zach's school janitor who doubles as assistant principal is an ex-KGB member and that the things he's taught Zach when he befriended him will help Zach thwart the cartel, but students I discussed that with actually found it believable because of the Witness Protection spin. Readers will be anxious to get their hands on the sequel (Jack's Run) and anything else written by Roland Smith.