Jack's Run

Zach's Lie #2

by Roland Smith

When Jack Osborne's father was arrested for drug trafficking, he agreed to tell the authorities everything he knew about his ex-boss, the ruthless drug czar Alonzo Aznar. But betraying a man as powerful as Alonzo has consequences. The Osbornes have spent the last year in hiding, forced to take on new identities and live under the close surveillance of the Witness Security Program.

Now, with his trial date fast approaching, Alonzo intensifies his hunt for Jack's family. One slipup, and Alonzo will find them, making sure no Osborne survives to testify against him. Jack has messed up once before, and he won't do it again. Unfortunately, someone else in the family hasn't been as careful. . .

Genres: Young Adult, Adventure, Realistic Fiction, Fiction, Mystery, Middle Grade, Action

246 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2005

About the author

Roland Smith is an American author of young adult fiction as well as nonfiction books for children.
Smith was born in Portland, Oregon, and graduated from Portland State University and, following a part-time job at the Oregon Zoo in Portland, began a 20-year career as a zookeeper, both at the Oregon Zoo and the Point Defiance Zoo in Tacoma, Washington. After working to save wildlife following the Exxon Valdez oil spill, in 1990, he published his first book, Sea Otter Rescue, a non-fiction account of the process of animal rescue. Smith continued to draw upon his zoo experiences for other non-fiction titles, including Journey of the Red Wolf, which won an Oregon Book Award in 1996.
In 1997, Smith published his first novel, Thundercave. The book continues Smith's theme, as teenage protagonist Jacob Lansa follows his biologist father to Africa where the father is researching elephants. The Lansa character also appears in 1999
s Jaguar and 2001's The Last Lobo. Other novels by Smith include The Captain's Dog: My Journey with the Lewis and Clark Tribe, Zach's Lie, Jack's Run, Cryptid Hunters, Sasquatch (novel), about a boy who searches for Bigfoot. Peak, the story of a teenage boy obsessed with climbing mountains, Elephant Run and Tentacles(novel). In 2008, Smith published the first book in the series I, Q, titled Independence Hall. Smith's books have won "Book of the Year" awards in Colorado, Nevada, South Carolina, and Florida, as well as in his native Oregon. Smith lives in Tualatin, Oregon with his wife and stepchildren.

Reviews

[Julia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought it was a great book, it was a book I couldn't put down. Definitely deserves the 5 stars.

[Dylan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jack's run is the sequal to Zach's Lie. At the end of Zach's Lie the Grangers, after almost being killed by Alanzo Aznar, become the greens and move to Manteo North Carolina. Not long after they moved Jack's Parents are going to go to court to see how Alanzo's trial is going so Jack has to go live with his sister and her sister's room mate. But without thinking Jack's sister auditioned on a popular show. One of Alanzo's hentchmen saw the show that gave Alanzo all the information he need. Then Jack and his sister get taken to a large vinyard owned by Alanzo and his brother. When Jack's parents found out about Jack and joanne being kidnapped they both planned to go save them with the help of Sam Sebesta and Smitty who is an old family friend. While Jack's Parent are trying to save Jack and Joanne they are planning on how to get out they have to make a run at night to a nearby town an hope they don't get caught. When Joanne gets caught Jack luckly doesn't get caught and begins searching for Joanne. After a while Jack's Parent get there to save them but when a crazed woman threatens to kill Joanne they chase her to a small room where they find Jack and Joanne.
I really think Jack is a good character because he is very courageous and smart. He does not give up and is also funny even in bad situations. But most of all he tries his hardest to protect his family.
I would recommend this book to everybody it is a great book. although i didn't like it as much as Zach's lie i still really liked it. It really gets you thinking of what you would do if you were him. This book has great characters I really like Sam Sebesta because he always know what to do and is never afraid.

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book, Jack's Run, is about the Osborne family. The Osborne family is in the Witness Security Program because their dad infiltrated a drug cartel and is going to testify against them in trial. Now that the drug cartel leader is in prison, he more than ever needs to find and kill the Osborne family. He has already tried once, in Elko, Nevada, where he was arrested. But even in jail, Alonzo Aznar is not giving up. He kidnaps the Osborne children, Jack and Joanne, and says that if Neil, the father, ever wants to see his kids alive again, he needs to hand over his diary, which has incriminating information on the drug cartel in it. Information that could put them in jail. So, while Jack and Joanne try to escape from the Aznar's vineyard in South America, Neil and his wife, Patricia, call on some old friends to help them rescue Jack and Joanne. Will the Osbornes prevail?

[Ashley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I pretty much lived with my head in a book during middle school. Literally. Middle school was my peak reading years if I'm being honest here.

[Mariana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jack’s Run
By: Roland Smith
Rating
I rate this book five stars. It is magical, and suspenseful. You can feel like you are right there with Jack Osborne and Joanne Osborne in the same setting. It is great! I enjoyed every page of this book, and when it ended, I barely cried, wishing that it was never over.
Summary
Jack Osborne and his family finally are in peace, being the Greens. Christine, as you know, sings and acts like an angel, and she was invited to this show called: “American Superstar”. And, everyone knows her, and Alonzo finds where she is at. One day, when Jack, and Joanne were in their house, someone comes and takes them. It was Zita, and El Sereno. They took them to Alonzo’s brother, Raphael, house. When their parents noticed, they were not answering their phone, they began to panic. That is when someone called; it was El Sereno warning them, and told them to check their email. Every 6 hours they will send a picture of them, and they will kill them if they don’t to what they want. Will Jack and Joanne be able to survive?

[Will · Rating 5 out of 5]

Imagine being stuck in a house not knowing where your family is and knowing you could be killed any second. This is what Jack and Joanne went through. The book I read was Jack’s Run by Roland Smith.
This book is a sequel to the book Zach’s Lie and the main character in this book is Jack Zach aka Mack. The book takes place in Manteo, NC, Los Angeles, and Argentina. The main conflicts are between Jack and Alonso Aznar and between Jack and Rafael Aznar. Both conflicts are character vs character. Jack was captured by Alonzo’s people because Jack got Alonzo in jail. Alonzo is Raphael works for Alonzo. Jack is being held captive by Raphael. Raphael owns a western town in Argentina. Some other characters are Joanne, Jack’s sister. There is also Jack’s mom and dad. Finally there is Sam, a former Russian spy.
At the end Alonzo and Raphael have heart attack pills inside of them. If either one tries to kidnap Jack and Joanne again, Sam can hit a button and both of them get heart attacks. My favorite part of the book was when Jack and Joanne broke out of their holding cell.
I personally liked this book because the author does a great job of creating suspense. The author also does a great job of making the characters seem like normal people who have gone through many different things. This book is a great sequel to Zach’s Lie because the books have the same great suspense to them. I think anyone who likes action/ suspense novels should read this book.

[Matt Thompson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jacks run is the faced paced sequel to "zachs lie". It's about 14 year old jack Osborne, who is undercover hiding from the ruthless Alonzo Aznar, an international drug cartel owner. Jack got tied into a mess of a problem because his dad was a pilot for Alonzo before getting arrested by the drug enforcement agency. Now Alonzo is in jail but jack and his family is nowhere close to being safe. Alonzo's men are hunting jack and his family down without letting anything get in their way while trying to kill the Osborne family. I recommend this book to anyone wanting to read a thrilling novel when you never know what's going to happen next.

[Beverly · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Osbourne Family has relocated to Elko, Nevada. Zach is trying to make friends, Wendy is starring in the high school production of Phantom. What they don't realize is the drug cartell has found them.

Marshalls rush to whisk them away with new identies to build new lives again. This time in North Carolina.

This sequel is full of surprises. It gives great insight into even in prison, the fingers of the cartell still move. There are Russian KGB defectors, trips to Argentina, Seal reunions, and mom and dad asked to join a part of DEA. Jack's Lie was good but Jack's Run is Fantastic!!!!

[02ColbyL · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jack's Run is a great sequel to Zach's lie. It is a book about a family whose lives get ruined all because their father went into the wrong buisness with the wrong man. Jack must learn to adapt to his new life a few different times. This story takes place in Los Angeles and somewhere in Argentina. For you see Jack and his family are in the witness protection programm and in the previous book everyone thought it would be Jack who would slip up, well they were right but this time no matter how you look at the situation it wasnt Jack's fault for getting him and his sister captured this time.

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a pretty strong sequel to Zack's Lie, and has some good catchy contemporary tie-ins to pop culture etc. Jack's family is again at risk after being outed once more in the FBI Witness Protection program and much subsequent chaos and activity ensue. Both Zack's Lie and Jack's Run are excellent alternatives to offer the young male reader who has not been sucked into the current rush on fantasy books.

[Michelle Schwendiman · Rating 3 out of 5]

This sequel to Zach's Lie is a fun and exciting story. I couldn't give it 4 stars like the first one, though, because too many improbable and impossible things happen. Jack's family is just way too lucky too many times, and there is no way Witness Protection would ever let someone in their program register for college in LA and pursue an acting/singing career. I think the kids who liked the first book will enjoy this one as well.

[Ms. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this book was a good book because I learnd how dangerous it is being in the witness protetion program. I think you would like this book to if you like suspencful books.

[Miguel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is called Jack's Run and the author is Roland Smith, I rate this book five stars. It is magical and suspenseful. I found out that this book is a sequel of a book called Zach's Lie which I haven't read yet but yeah this book is pretty good and the story is thrilling because this kid Zach is going thru a lot and getting worried about his ex-boss Alonzo and that Alonzo is hunting him down and Zach is trying to survive. My favorite character is Doris Welty she is a U.S. Marshall and she is great because she helps Jack's out and she is a pretty cool character. My least favorite character is Alonzo because he a scary guy whos trying to kill Jack and his family cause he went to jail but got out. One of my favorite quotes is "Don't let the ones you love stop you from doing your own thing". That quote is telling don't stop doing something that you love or stop you from reaching your goals.

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book from the beginning! Zach’s Lie started out kinda slow but this one had me hooked from the beginning and I didn’t want to stop reading.

I knew Joanne had messed up big time when I figured out what kind of audition she had gone to. So much for low profile. I just didn’t expect her and Jack to have been taken right away. That really got my interest and I couldn’t hardly stop reading. I had to know what was going to happen next.

I also liked how this one went from different points of view so you could see what everyone was doing. I was glad to see Cat made an appearance and I knew there was more to Sam than just being a custodian! And more than being former KGB. I knew he was still up to something.

Overall I loved the pace of this book. It had a lot going on and I wasn’t bored or wondering when something was going to happen. Glad I picked these up.

[Pearse Reagan · Rating 3 out of 5]

The intense story Jack's run by Roland Smith is a modern story that tells how the main character Jack has a run-in with a drug cartel. The Witness Security Program protect Jacks and his family from the cartel. His family is with new names because of Alonzo Aznar, a drug dealer that worked with Jacks dad. Neil, Jack's dad was caught for drug trafficking and promised to tell The Witness Security Program all of what he knows about Alonzo, but did not tell all. Later in the book, he uses what he did not tell to his advantage. Jack moves to LA for two weeks with his sister because his parents do not want him around during the case. Jack and his sister are captured by Alonzo's crew and their parents will do anything to get them back.

[Jack Purcell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sometimes you need a quick, mindless read to get you back into the swing of reading. This book is one of many that I hadn’t read and yet still sat on my shelf. I can now say both of those things have changed.

It’s exactly what I expected from a book of this genre: a bit unrealistic and yet similarly predictable. A family in witness protection due to the father’s testimony against the leader of a drug cartel is forced to take matters into their own hands when their lives are threatened. I wouldn’t say it was a particularly good read, but it definitely had some entertainment value. It is a YA novel, after all.

[Rachelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

2020 EBN Challenge ... Category #36
Challenge Topic: A young adult book.

This was a sequal to a book called Zach's Lie. I didn't read the first one, and I wish I had. You don't really "need" to read the first one to understand what is going on, but there are definitely some little inside knowledge moments that I think came from the first book.

The author keeps the suspense going and really captures the horror of how the drug cartel operates and handles their prisoners and each other.

[Krista Abrao · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was at a disadvantage having not read book #1, but I did not realize this was a sequel until I began the book. That being said, it was still a great adventure as a stand alone. I found myself wondering what would happen next and how the characters would get out of each situation. I would definitely recommend this book!

[Elizabeth Moore · Rating 4 out of 5]

Erin and I read the 1st book for school and really enjoyed it. So we took out part 2 and we read 1/2 Erin gave up and after much poking I gave up and finished it myself. Perfect young adult book for adventure murder mystery fans. A young boy who is in the witness protection program helps to save his family.

Loved it!!

[Shadows Of Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

Une très belle surprise ! Je ne m'attendais pas du tout a autant accroché, mais la plume est fluide, l'intrigue est bien menée, les personnages sont attachants, j'ai lu ce livre d'une traite. Il se lit très rapidement et apporte une fin plus que satisfaisante. C'est une très bonne découverte moi qui était réticence a commencer ce livre je ne regrette finalement pas de m'y être lancé !

[sophia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an adventure-packed, wonderful way to end the story. It was a bit like something that would fit into a 00's adventure spy sorta movie. I'd say it was a really interesting concept, and not the typical book. Roland Smith tends to have those types of plot lines, I feel.

[Owen]

It was a good book number two in the serious with jacks lie being the first. When his sister gets a good acting publicity and is on the news she guys that are after them from the past kidnap jack and his sister. They escape and their old janitor friend helps them to make it out alive.

[Fatima · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think Jack's Run was the coolest book and very interesting book. The book was very surprisingly good. Especially of how Jack was willing to continue to survive with a broken leg. I think there experience with Alonzo must have been tough. I think the author should make more books just like Jack's Run.

[Sara Shupe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Should have read the first one but I think I got the idea... pretty good middle grade action and suspense.

[Cole · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked it a lot and about how his father is druglord and wants to redeem himself and protect his family from people who he ratted out on and how he is going to do whatever it takes to protect them.

[Gabriella Reyes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not as good as the first one but is still a really good book

[Trey Fast · Rating 5 out of 5]

really good just like the first one

[Truman Neuburger · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ricardo Omar like

[Gracie D · Rating 1 out of 5]

I accidentally pressed it and I couldn’t change it back

[Ahmad]

this book is very boring zzzzzz