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Jr. Harry E. Gilleland

Zack's Choice Kindle Edition

by Harry Gilleland (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

4.2 37 ratings

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Zackery Gresham has his life all planned. His mother is a lawyer; his father is a federal judge; and he is Pre-Law at Yale, with Harvard Law School to follow before he joins his mother’s prestigious law firm. He plans to marry his high school and Yale girlfriend once he graduates from Law School. During a school break Zack takes a once-in-a-lifetime motorcycle trip through the southern states. In New Mexico he has a chance encounter with a strange hitchhiker. The resulting chaos will bring Zack face-to-face with a choice that could alter his life forever.

Reviewed by Jack Magnus for Readers' Favorite: 5-stars
Zack's Choice is an adventure story written by Harry E. Gilleland, Jr. Zack is having a last adventure before going back to Yale for his final year of pre-law studies. His life is planned and set out: a law degree from Harvard and then a career with his mother's law firm. He's been touring the Southern states on his Harley on his way home to Portland. While Zack's parents were not at all enthusiastic about this trip, Zack stood his ground and has been having a great time. Everything changes when he stops to pick up a young hitchhiker in the deserts of New Mexico. The hitchhiker, Bobby, seems aimless and too young to be on his own, so Zack treats him to dinner and shares his motel with him. When Zack wakes up, Bobby is gone, along with Zack's wallet. Zack calls home for extra cash and continues on his trip, stopping in Las Vegas for a show and some gaming before going home. He's surprised to find Bobby walking down the street and, on apprehending him, hears a very strange story indeed.
Harry E. Gilleland's contemporary fiction novel, Zack's Choice, is a first-rate adventure tale. The plot is fast-paced and very entertaining. Zack is a good boy when the reader first meets him, whose big act of rebellion from somewhat domineering parents is a summer trip on his Harley. He's already resigned to it being his last big thrill when life interrupts. Bobby's story is so crazy, yet compelling, that I was taken in as well and began to think Zack's Choice was another fiction genre altogether. There's a lot of humor as Zack blithely goes off to school, not fully realizing what he's done, and a grim peek into the legal machinery the unwary can get enmeshed in. Zack's Choice is literate, fun, and entirely unpredictable, and I enjoyed it immensely.

Print length

182 pages
Language

English
Sticky notes

On Kindle Scribe
Publication date

February 18, 2014
File size

560 KB
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Harry E. Gilleland, Jr. is an award-winning poet and author who lives with his wife Linda in Shreveport, Louisiana. At age 69, Harry is retired from his career as a Professor of Microbiology and now engages in writing full-time. "Zack's Choice" is Harry's ninth published book. --This text refers to the paperback edition.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00IJEWGM4
Publication date ‏ : ‎ February 18, 2014
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 560 KB
Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 182 pages
Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ 1495983293

Customer Reviews:
4.2 37 ratings

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Jr. Harry E. Gilleland

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Harry E. Gilleland, Jr is an award-winning poet and author of ten published books, four books of his personal poetry and six prose books.

Harry was born in Macon, GA, and has lived since 1975 in Shreveport, LA, making him a proud and confirmed Southerner. He spent two long years living in London, Canada in the snow, ice, and freezing - and I do mean freezing - cold. He moved back south to thaw out in 1975 and has no plans to ever leave the South again. Dr. Gilleland retired in 2004 after twenty-nine years as a Professor of Microbiology at LSUHSC-S's School of Medicine. Since his retirement, Harry has devoted his efforts full-time to creative writing, both poetry and prose, and to editing.

Harry served as Editor-in-chief for 4RV Publishing, a small traditional publisher headquartered in Oklahoma, for three years, retiring in July, 2014.

Harry is quite happily married to his wonderful wife Linda, and they have four adult children and five teenaged grandchildren. He used to share life with a wonderful Corgi named Rusty, but he died at age fifteen, leaving a scar of Harry's and Linda's heart.

Harry is a bird lover, with three seed feeders and three hummingbird feeders in his backyard. Squirrels, opossums, and raccoons visit the seed feeders, along with hundreds of birds of many varieties. Observing their activities has inspired quite a few poems by Harry over the years.

Like most good Southerners, Harry loves football and is a fan of the LSU Tigers and the Georgia Bulldogs, plus the Dallas Cowboys in the NFL. Harry's long-suffering wife Linda patiently endures his football fever each Fall.

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Joyce Metzger

A Choice, or A Nudge?

Reviewed in the United States on July 9, 2014

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Zack bent caution's rules when he saw, and stopped for, the youthful hitchhiker. The slender boy looked very vulnerable, needy, standing there at the edge of the vast desert.
Bobby Smith, sixteen, seemed strangely evasive, rather than grateful. He left early the next morning with Zack's cash, credit cards, and cell phone. This was to be Zack's once in a lifetime Harley bike ride. He was a Yale man destined for law school. Zack found Bobby again, in Vegas, oddly still in possession of all his valuables.
Frightened, Bobby declared himself to be, "The Chosen One." The one chosen to defeat powers of evil and save the world. Later, Zack decided that the kid had serious reality issues. Bobby wove an intricate tale to backup his intentions. He told Zack about the Sword of Damascus and drew Zack into his plans to steal the valuable.museum relic. It was worth three hundred million.
This book is about a journey, fatal encounters, and life altering consequences from abrupt detours.
The two head for California. Later, to Europe, for entangling, hair raising adventures. Why does Zack believe Bobby? Why does he go along with these unpredictable, madcap adventures? Has Zack' s life lacked luster sparks? Does he have the soul of a villain, a thief? Is this just the last fling before knuckling down to a staid, responsible life?
This story unravels another crazy turn. The misdirection was harmless. Questions need answers. Why do we do crazy, irresponsible, life altering things? Is there an underlying design, a crazy quilt pattern for youth to sprinkle seeds among the stars? Harry E. Gilliland, Jr weaves delicate possibilities. His imagination soars on wide wings.

One person found this helpful

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Kristina Carlsen

Cheesy...

Reviewed in the United States on May 19, 2014

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Zack’s Choice is about a college sophomore who meets a teenage hitchhiker on a cross country trip. The teenager announces that he is the “chosen one” and needs Zack’s help to find the sword of Damascus. Zack is skeptical, but comes around after a few incredible signs prove Bobby is telling the truth.

I was sucked into this novel at first, but after the third chapter the story just got really strange. My biggest complaint was that Bobby, as the teenager, is completely unbelievable. Teenagers – even “chosen” ones – just do not talk like that. And Zack is supposed to be 20. Zack is more believable than Bobby, but it seems like he should be older.

Overall, the story was decent, but the characters were cheesy.

2 people found this helpful

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Ally McMahon

Excellent!

Reviewed in the United States on June 24, 2014

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Zack’s Choice is an exciting read from the first to the last page.

Author Harry Gilleland brings his talent to the forefront with this exceptional tale. We first meet Zack riding along on his Harley. He notices a hitchhiker and decides to stop. The hitchhiker looks way too young to be out there by himself. Zack takes a chance and picks up the hitchhiker, Bobby. You see from the beginning the charity in Zack’s heart as he picks Bobby up and then feeds and shelters him. Unfortunately for Zack his kindness is repaid by robbery.

Zack eventually ends up back on the road only to run into Bobby again, only now Zack discovers that Bobby isn’t who he says he is and it doesn’t stop there. This time Zack does not get off so easy. Though Zack’s life is all planned and laid out before him he is presented with a new road and a choice of whether or not to follow it. What ensues is a suspenseful and thrilling adventure that involves stolen property, the FBI, Vatican, mystery, suspense and fighting the good fight.

The dialogue flows eloquently drawing you deep into the story. The characters are solid and real leaving you to wonder what the truth really is. This story delves into coming of age, mystery, suspense, turmoil and ends with enlightenment. I highly recommend it!

3 people found this helpful

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Lisa Stamper

Fun, Fast Paced Wonderful Read!

Reviewed in the United States on June 30, 2014

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Zack's Choice is a brilliantly written book about a young man named Zack who is going home for the holidays from Yale. Driving his motorcycle across America to see the sights has always been something he wanted to do. Picking up a hitchhiker, he decides to help the boy, with a bed in his hotel and a hot meal ... only to discover he has been stolen from in the morning... when he runs into the boy later he hears an apocalyptic tale and a dire need of help in saving the world that literally changes his whole life.

This book was a real page turner. It's incredibly well written and very fast paced. Zack's character is developed so well, you can really understand the reasons why he makes the choices he does....

There were a few twists that I didn't expect and some great action at the end that literally had my heart pounding out of my chest.

I would recommend this book to anyone really.... I had so much fun reading this book... I can totally see it being made into a movie some day.... not a dull moment in the whole book!

2 people found this helpful

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NDP_NYC

Plot Twists, Adventure and Humor

Reviewed in the United States on June 19, 2014

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Gilleland’s novel, ‘Zack’s Choice’ combines elements of several genres to create a compelling, intriguing and often fascinating story. Part allegory about the consequences of life choices, part crime thriller, part adventure story about a heist, part coming of age tale and part mystery, this novel is hard to categorize and has elements that will appeal to a variety of readers. We meet Zack, who thinks he has all the answers and knows where his life is heading, on a summer trip to New Mexico during college. When Zack is robbed by a hitchhiker and then accidentally runs into him again in Las Vegas, Zack is given an unbelievable account and the story is set in motion. The hitchhiker’s incredible tale sets the hero off on an adventure that has him traveling around the world, running from the police and in the process learning about himself. The story is full of twists and turns, unexpected events and a surprise ending that I didn't see coming. The novel is a fast-paced, often thrilling read. Although its main characters are young adults, readers of every age and background would find this unusual tale engrossing and hard to put down. Highly recommended.

6 people found this helpful

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MWB Review

Sure at the Crossroads - A review of the novel ‘Zack’s Choice’

Reviewed in India on June 16, 2014

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“Never look back unless you are planning to go that way” – Henry David Thoreau

People are often not what they appear to be, the perception and imagery of our assumptions about their character are often wrong and misleading. And it is often said that you can find out a person’s true nature in the time of a crisis; when they are faced with important and critical choices, we get to see their real core, understand what they are truly made of. If this is true in life, then it’s truer in the case of fictional characters. The easiest way to reveal your character’s true nature is to present before them a choice and document the path that they undertake.

In author Harry E. Gilleland, Jr’s new novel, ‘Zack’s Choice’ the choice the namesake lead character Zack has to make is something that will truly test his character. Fiction often immortalizes its Heroes & Villains through films & books as moral characters who will make these moral & immoral choices, resulting in victory through sacrifices or by withholding it. But in Zack’s Choice, you have a protagonist who isn’t your archetypal goody two shows hero but more of a character who is at a crossroads in his life, wanting to break away from the secure and pre planned life back at home to take a chance, a chance at redeeming something, and that something maybe as simple as rediscovering himself in the bargain. So you have certain conflicted characters who might think they are the good guys or the bad guys until, when faced with a dilemma, they learn something new about themselves. This is the single most defining element of this novel that enables a reader to assimilate the fiction to his real life because similar to real life, in the novel too its only when the lead character is faced with hardships, does he discover his true self.

Zack’s not so ambitious plan to marry his high school sweetheart and follow in his parent’s footsteps come undone the day he meets Bobby Smith who turns his world upside down from the minute they meet and who even manages to convince Zack a farfetched tale about his role in saving the world from its imminent destruction. This is where he makes the first choice, and he soon realizes that our choices don’t affect only us but also those around us. They can affect our lives in unimaginable ways like it does with Zack whose detour takes him to California and across Europe all the while trying to avoid the law. It soon becomes a complex, cat and mouse game between Zack and Bobby and how their characters even after choosing different paths end up affecting each others lives.

This is the beauty and great quality of good fictional writing. Our past actions and words do come back to haunt us. An immoral choice made in the past by a character comes back to hurt him in the end. While a moral choice, made by a lead which often involves a sacrifice, actually ends up bringing great rewards to him in the end.

You can’t categorize and departmentalize “Zack’s Choice” into a hard and fast genre; it can be a thriller at times and a coming of age story otherwise. But what it is for sure is a first class page turner that is both an easy read but also manages to leave its impact long after you’ve turned the last page.

I wholeheartedly recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a short and cozy summer read that you can relax with and then prepare yourselves to fall in love with Zack and his naivety and innocence and monitor his growth into an introspective young adult with a good soul by the end of the novel.

Frank Horne

A fine and imaginative tale

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 29, 2014

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Right from the outset the story is full of intrigue and Mr Gilleland has crafted a fine and imaginative tale. Zack is a classic hero getting pulled into events much more complex than he could anticipate and there is a humour and realism to that as the story begins to unravel and Zack has to deal with the fallout. It's a very enjoyable and interesting read that raises questions and entertains at the same time so I would recommend it.

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