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Fake ID
Fake ID
Fake ID
Audiobook7 hours

Fake ID

Written by Lamar Giles

Narrated by William Harper

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

3.5/5

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About this audiobook

Lamar Giles takes readers on a wild and dark ride in this contemporary Witness Protection thriller, perfect for fans of James Patterson, Harlan Coben, and John Grisham.

Nick Pearson is hiding in plain sight. In fact, his name isn't really Nick Pearson. He shouldn't tell you his real name, his real hometown, or why his family just moved to Stepton, Virginia. And he definitely shouldn't tell you about his friend Eli Cruz and the major conspiracy Eli was uncovering when he died. About how Nick had to choose between solving Eli's murder with his hot sister, Reya, and "staying low-key" like the Program said to do.

But he's going to tell you—unless he gets caught first. . . .

LanguageEnglish
Release dateJan 21, 2014
ISBN9780062299178
Author

Lamar Giles

Lamar Giles is the Edgar Award–nominated author of the Legendary Alston Boys series, as well as several young adult novels. He is the cofounder of We Need Diverse Books and the editor of the WNDB anthology, Fresh Ink. He lives in Virginia with his family.

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Reviews for Fake ID

Rating: 3.6507936380952386 out of 5 stars
3.5/5

63 ratings13 reviews

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  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Narrated by William Harper. Nick (Tony) is a witness protection kid whose family has been moved once again, this time to a southern small town where Nick realizes his dad may be involved in a mayoral coverup. The ethnic diversity of the characters was appreciated, and Nick's discoveries lent to the suspense, but to me, the story ended up staggering towards a rather limp ending.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Great book I wish there would be more books I hope there will be more !!!!
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    The premise sounded predictable - a young man trying to lay low, not get too close to anyone in his new high school in order to protect his family's new Witness Protection identities. However, right away Giles distinguishes his story from others by introducing Eli, a young Latino journalist who has big plans for his future. Because Giles develops Eli's character so well, his death is still a shock, even though the book description gives this away before the story begins. Nick, the African-American protagonist, is also someone I liked right away and cared about more and more, as I saw him struggle not just with the mystery but also his relationships at home. I liked this book for the characters, but the plot surprised me again and again. Lots of dropped clues and foreshadowing kept me hooked. Once the mystery was solved, I appreciated the way Giles wrapped up the conflicts happening at home too. Overall, very satisfying and enjoyable. I'll recommend this to lots of students this year, as it's one of the Abraham Lincoln Award nominees.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    A teenager in the Witness Protection program gets caught up in a dangerous mystery after his only friend at his new school dies. Lamar Giles keeps the reader engaged with interesting characters and well timed twists.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    It's entirely possible that the circumstances going into reading this book soured me a bit to some of its faults and made them stand out more. I read this book as part of Book Riot's 2020 read harder challenge. This was under the category of "Read a mystery where a woman is not the victim". So, I was already approaching it thinking of how objectified women's bodies tend to be in mysteries. While the main mystery of this book is centered around the death of a young boy, the women are still objectified, just not in corpse form. But a lot a time is spent ogling the body of a teenaged girl. which, okay, the protagonist is a teenaged boy, that is acceptable. But there is a throwaway line about adult police officers coming to teenaged parties to admire "teenaged a**".Then there is a scene where the protagonist intimidates a foe with insinuations of prison rape that lean heavily on feminization and emasculation as insults. Even the protagonist's mother is largely portrayed as an inconvenience or an obstacle. When she leaves, literally the only thing that gets a direct mention of being worse is that his Dad's cooking is awful. All of which makes some of the other times where social issues are brought up but then not particularly addressed feel all the more hollow. That being said, the book does have some good bits. The plot is engaging. The narration from the audiobook I borrowed on Libby is excellent. The concept is fresh. I always appreciate YA books that allow their protagonists to be flawed human beings, which this one does. It's also a book that has a diverse cast of characters. But in the end, the objectification of the women in the book made the read less than enjoyable.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This rating is higher than I would have anticipated because I'm normally not a huge fan of realistic YA fiction. But this is a really fantastic thriller style story, with lots of action, some mystery, high school drama, and an interesting organized crime gloss. I read it in one day, and really enjoyed the ride. It's particularly a great read if you like mysteries, and I'm definitely going to bring it along for booktalks this summer. It does have a fair amount of swearing, but I think it's not excessive considering the events of the story.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Fake ID is a well written story about Nick whose family is on their fourth try in the Witness Protection Program. If Nick's father can't stop himself this time from violating the rules of the program, they will be out. Nick's mom has just about had enough and contemplates leaving. As Nick starts classes in his new high school, he immediately makes a new friend and finds himself interested in a girl. His new friend, Eli, runs the school newspaper and is the semi-official greeter for the numerous new students that seem to find their way to Stepton's high school. Nick quickly runs afoul of the school's bully, Zach, when he spends time with Zach's former girlfriend, Reya. These all seem like big problems to Nick until Eli starts talking to him about something called "Whispertown" and seemingly commits suicide in the school newspaper office on a Friday evening when Nick goes on his first official assignment covering the football game for the paper. Finding Eli's body on Monday morning puts Nick in the middle of a town scandal right at the very time he is supposed to be lying low. Trying to prove that Eli didn't commit suicide digs Nick deeper into a town that isn't what it seems.This book is very interesting and well written with lots of unexpected twists and turns, but I have trouble liking the character of Nick. Much of his trouble stems from his lack of honesty with those around him which seems to run in his family. Overall a good story, but not a very happy one.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Nick Pearson is in WitSec or the Federal Witness Protection Program with his mother and father. Because his father keeps getting into trouble, they are on their last relocation. Nick is befriended by Eli on his first day of school and gets tangled into some very interesting situations. Eli is working on the newspaper and has stumbled across some interesting information. Nick is curious and starts to work with Eli to find out more. When Nick shows up to work with Eli after a weekend he finds Eli dead in the journalism center. Nick refuses to believe it's suicide and gets dragged deeper into the mystery. As more facts come to light it is apparent that Nick is tangled into a very suspicious web. Who can he trust? It doesn't help that Nick has fallen for Eli's sister, Reya. Tons of suspense and twists & turns. I read this book in less than a day. Really enjoyed it.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Pure suspense and fine writing in this YA-for-all-ages mystery! It's one of the few thrillers I've ever read where character development is as strong as the plot. African American teenager Nick Pearson and his family have been moved around by the government too many times due to the misdeeds of Nick's restless father. Their last chance is in Stepton, a run down town that's Last Stop on the Witness Protection Express. Nick is quickly plunged into drama by his new friend Eli, journalism nerd and conspiracy theorist. He's also very aware of Eli's gorgeous sister Raya, and Raya's ex-boyfriend Zack, a football team meathead.Many adults avoid YA novels, perhaps due to the settings or to the painful revisiting of adolescence. This is a fine mystery on every level, one of the best I've read in 2015, and was nominated for an Edgar Award in 2015. Most highly recommended.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    I really love that there are more YA books around with lead characters who aren't all white, but this one still left things to be desired for me.

    It was a bit difficult to see past the sexy-lamp-female characters whose main motivation is often looking good for the guys. The main character also has the issue that he's said to have certain traits and doesn't really show them, and the big reveal of the main twist also fell a bit flat. Like Whispertown- the main twist, and at the end, what was the point of it, really?
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Not one of the better witness protection books that I've read, but I'll still add it to our shelves so we can build a collection.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I had a hard time finishing this book. It’s not that the characters or plot or writing was horrible... it was just that I never clicked enough with the story to be fully immersed. Nevertheless, I am sure some others people will enjoy Fake ID. I just... struggled.The number one thing that had me yawning during the story, was that I never connected enough to the characters to care what happened to them. Maybe I am cold-hearted, but I have to feel a connection to fictional characters before I care about their life. I feel like the characters had a lot of potential. For example, I felt that Nick and I seriously should have loved each other. I (usually) really like humorous male protagonists. However, I didn't really care for Nick. I just don't think the author ever developed his characters enough for me to grow attached. The novel did have some positive aspects. Kudos to the main character for being humorous. Also, kudos to the author for bringing non-white and non-female protagonists to the YA genre. Thank you! That said, I still never connected to the book. The plot never pulled me in. Honestly, I remember very little of the story line and I finished this book only a month ago. That should tell you a lot about how I felt about the book. It wasn't memorable.Overall, Fake ID wasn't terrible in any way. In fact, there were a few things I liked. Sadly, the book was pretty bland in my opinion. If the author had worked a little more on the characters, I feel like I could have enjoyed this more. I will still look out for Lamar Gile's next work.I had the hardest time deciding what to rate the book. I'm going with 2.5 Stars.*I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review*
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Fake ID by Lamar Giles (not to be confused with Fake ID by Walter Sorrells) is a FakeIDrefreshing teen guy mystery. More of these are needed--and this is prime for a series. Nick Pearson is the new kid in school. On his first day, he accidently bumps into Reya Cruz in the gym. Unfortunately, Reya's former boyfriend, Lamar, hasn't gotten the hint that they've broken up and he's the jealous sort. So, in the locker room, Nick gets jumped by Lamar and his friends. Nick's ass is saved by Eli, the geeky head of the school newspaper.Nick and Eli become sort of friends and Nick gets roped into working on the newspaper. Several weeks later, Eli is found dead on the newspaper room floor. It's deemed a suicide but Nick feels/knows differently because Eli was working on a major story. Nick, for several reasons, feels compelled to find out who the murderer is.FakeID1There are surprises in the beginning that I don't want to spoil. There is action, suspense, romance going on in Fake ID, in just the right proportions. Lamar Giles is a good writer. I felt that I knew Eli and Nick and the other characters. There are twists and turns that I never saw coming. I really enjoyed Fake ID.P.S. I also enjoyed Fake ID by Walter Sorrells. Both books will appeal to the same audience.