Roland Smith

Orion and I are still reading out loud each night for about 20 or 30 minutes. Sometimes the books we read are books I've been waiting to share with him (like last year's consumption of Gary Paulsen's work) other times they're books that he's discovered (during fourth grade we discovered Andrew Clements!). We've even been known to reread books that his teacher is reading or that he is reading for the Accelerated Reading Program.

This time, we discovered Roland Smith at the same time. I purchased a book called Peak and a friend won a signed copy of Elephant Run. I later found Sasquatch, thinking it might be the one to start with. But Orion came home with Zach's Lie. We were riveted. Zach is really Jack, a boy placed in the Witness Protection Program due to his father's unsavory business associates. The book follows Jack as he becomes Zach and moves from a McMansion to a simple shotgun house in Elko, Nevada (Can we say middle of nowhere?). There the bad guys catch up with him and his family. He and an unusual hero (the school custodian) save the day.

We just started Jack's Run. Jack is now Mack and living in North Carolina. We've not yet finished the book, but we will soon. It is very faced paced. Mack's sister let's the cat of the back so to speak and the bad guys are on their tail. What happens? We have no idea! But his parents aren't there to help; they're at the trial. Very suspenseful.

Orion and I will be reading Sasquatch, Peak, and probably the Criptid Hunters next. I don't feel up to reading Elephant Run as it's a war novel and I am not sure I can face that right now. Perhaps in the spring.

Have you read any Roland Smith? What did you think? What do you recommend? I'd love to hear from you!