Zach's Lie [Hardcover]

Roland Smith (Author)

Book Description

Grade Level: 5 and up

Jack Osborne's life changes forever the night men in masks break into his house, threaten Jack and his family, and ransack their home. Jack then discovers the reason these men have come into their lives-his father has been arrested for drug trafficking. Jack, his mother, and his sister are then forced to enter Witness Security Program. Jack becomes "Zach" and moves to Elko, Nevada, a town in the middle of nowhere. There he meets Sam, the strangest school custodian he has ever encountered, and Catalin, a girl who might make Zach's uprooting worth the trouble. But just as Zach finally begins to piece together a new life, he finds himself in danger again-and this time his actions could determine the fates of everyone he cares about.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Zach Granger has to tell many lies; for one, his name is really Jack Osborne, and for another his parents aren't divorced rather, his father, a pilot, is in prison for transporting drugs for a ruthless cartel. When his father agrees to cooperate with the DEA, his family goes into a witness protection program, with new names and a new home in Elko, Nev. Will they be safe from the cartel? Smith (Thunder Cave; Jaguar) paints a realistic picture of Zach's complicated emotions: he misses his father and his old life, he's nervous about making a mistake and he is uncomfortable lying, especially to his new girlfriend, Catalin. He also takes to his new surroundings, especially Catalin's grandfather's sheep camp in the mountains, and the friendly hotel that's home to Sam, the warm and wise custodian of Zach's school. Smith keeps the tensions high: readers will suspect right away that the detailed journals Zach keeps are going to lead to trouble, and will understand the hero's anxiety when lines from it begin to appear on his classroom's chalkboard. Drug lord Alonzo Aznar is a stereotypical bad guy (he has a ponytail, dresses all in black and "likes getting his hands dirty from time to time") and Sam's confession that he is a former KGB spy feels too convenient. But these are small caveats; readers are sure to be caught up in Zach's suspenseful adventure. Ages 10-14.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Grade 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 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 212 pages
• Publisher: Hyperion; 1st edition (June 2, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786806176
• ISBN-13: 978-0786806171
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (86 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,248,522 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Roland Smith is a former zookeeper and leading expert on red wolves as well as an author. He lives on a small farm near Portland, Oregon.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars GREAT READ!!!, November 10, 2006

By 

Shelley Burgess "Shelley" (Enterprise, MS) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Zach's Lie (Paperback)

For nine years I taught fourth grade and used literature circles for a portion of my reading program. Two years ago, when Scholastic offered this book as a literature circle set, I ordered one. My nine and ten year old students needed a little help understanding the flashback that takes place, but overall they just LOVED the book. This year I moved to seventh grade and decided to use it as a whole group read to start the year. While it is an easy read for 12 - 14 year olds, it was a book with which I could easily create a reading unit that would teach both my reading/writing frameworks and character education, and one that intrigued my students. Roland Smith does an excellent job at creating a plot that keeps children interested and wanting to read more. They are begging to read the sequel, "Jack's Run." I recommend this book for any upper elementary/middle school teacher to use to draw students in and hopefully gain an appreciation and love of reading. Thank you Roland Smith for such a GREAT READ!!!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars What do you get when you take the 'v' out of lives?, April 1, 2005

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Zach's Lie (Paperback)

Due to the fact that his dad is in jail, Zach had to change everything of himself. His name, his hometown, and even his hair color--he drew the line at dying his hair blonde. Who used to be Jack Osborne is now Zach Granger, with his sister (Joanne who is now Wanda) and mother (Patricia who is now Mrs. Granger), relocated and living what he thinks is safely in Elko, Nevada. They used to live in a huge house all the way in whoknowswhere, but now they live in a tiny house (at least 5 times smaller) where there are three E's to the town. Everyone knows Everything about Everybody. Maybe evena fourth--Eventually. Soon, Zach and his family's life is at stake with the three E's because of a journal that he writes in frequently. Omigosh, is he going to die? What's going to happen to his father? Find out, it's a really good book. I suggest it.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars zachs lie, April 11, 2007

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Zach's Lie (Paperback)

ZACH'S LIE
What would you do if somebody broke into your house and threatened to kill you? This is an investigation book that tells all about a kid's life that gets turned around when people break into his house for his dad.

This book title is Zach's Lie. The author is Rolan Smith. The genre: this book has action, adventure, and it also has investigation in it.


This extraordinary book takes place in Portland, Oregon the main characters are Zach, the janitor, his mom and dad and his best friend.


The plot is when Zach is trying to figure everything out why the bad guys are trying to kidnap him so he doesn't figure out what is going on.


What I liked about how the author wrote about the story is that she made it sound like something was bad every second which was cool and how she made it adventurous.


I think somebody that would like this book would be 9 year old and up I am "ten years old" and I loved this book.


I thought this book was great, awesome and just so amazing. I would love to read it again! I think it is better than a lot of books.