Customer Reviews

Zack

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Zack is a teen who feels connected to his Father's Romanian Jewish heritage, but confused about "the family mystery." That is, his black mother never discusses her family background or why Zack has never met or learned about her side of the family. He searches out his black roots after tracing the history of an African slave whose personal items he dug up on their Canadian property. The book touches upon issues of racial identity, prejudice, family secrets and the damage that unresolved issues can cause. Zach is comfortable with himself and his parents which was refreshing to me, as many biracial kids are represented as being bitter and confused. I bought this book as part of my own research into what it will be like raising a biracial daughter. I gained some insight into what I could do to encourage her self-esteem and pride. I was also impressed with the literary quality of Bell's work. I believe this is a must-read for not only biracial teens, but their parents, teachers and classmates.

William Bell has written an excellent book that is a good introduction to racism and family conflict. His ability to weave historical events into his stories is sure to pique the interest of young teens. Bell's message is that history is about people, rather than just dates and facts. It doesn't have to be boring.

I have a personal connection to the story of Richard Pierpoint, having grown up where Zack's fictional farm is located. I was very interested to read William Bell's book. I found the story to be well constructed with regards to Zack's new life in rural Ontario, his discovery of Pierpoint's story and his family connection to Mississippi. The story flows well and the use of language is very natural. The description of small Ontario definitely rings true. I think that many people (especially teenagers) would find it of interest. My personal interest in Pierpoint has led to a book that will be beneficial to those readers who want to know more about this remarkable man. It is called "A Stolen Life: Searching for Richard Pierpoint" and is published by Natural Heritage.

Zack is desperately trying to get a passing grade in his high school history class. Despite his bad test scores, his teacher has given him another chance. If he writes a research paper on some subject of local history, she will grade it and count it toward his final mark in her class. Zack is at a loss about what to research until he finds a leather box and a neck iron buried in his garden. As Zack's mother is black, the artifacts, obviously belonging to a former slave, have some meaning for him. Zack is able to research and write the entire story of the artifacts and their owner, who was a slave who migrated to Canada in order to live as a free man.

After writing his paper and passing his class, Zack starts thinking about his own family. He knows his father's white Jewish parents and their background, but he has never even met his mother's father or other family members, who all live in Mississippi. When Zack's parents take a trip without him, Zack takes the opportunity to drive to Mississippi to meet his grandfather and find out what happened to cause such a rift in their family. What he finds, though, ends up surprising him and helping him to understand his family better.

I liked the idea of a high school student taking this journey in order to find out something about himself and his family's identity. I also liked the ending of this book; it seemed realistic and not as easy as it could have been.

The relationship between Zack and Jen was far too easy, though. There seemed to be no basis for the two of them to start going out, especially after how Jen's cousin had treated Zack.

Zack is the story of a biracial guy by the name of Zack, For a school project he decide to go to the south to find his black grandfather, who his mother hasen't been in touch with since her marriage of Zach's white Jewish father. When Zach find's his grandfather he realize why he and his mother hasn't been in contact. I felt there was something missing, and that more research should have been done.