Book Summary and Reviews of Fake ID by Lamar Giles

Fake ID by Lamar Giles

Fake ID

by Lamar Giles

  • Critics' Consensus (1):
  • Readers' Rating (5):
  • Published:
  • Jan 2014, 320 pages
  • Rate this book

About this book

Book Summary

Fake ID is a compelling story full of twists and turns - sure to appeal to 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..

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Reviews

Media Reviews

"Fast action, judicious plot twists, and sufficiently evil teens and adults should keep thrill-seeking readers awake long into the night." - Kirkus

"This engrossing thriller blends gritty crime storytelling with solid, realistic family drama. Ages 13-up." - Publishers Weekly

"Conspiracy theorists and thriller fans alike will be guessing right up to the end of this exciting debut." - Booklist

This information about Fake ID was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.

Reader Reviews

Write your own reviewwrite your own review

rjaay .

Fake ID
Fake Id is a good book. I don't really like reading, but this book got me. It didn't really take me long to read it. Its a real cool book. It reminds me of the movie Fake Id.

John

Fake ID
This was a really great book; I really enjoyed it, and it was suspenseful in a good way.

Aiah Johnson

Fake ID is the best book I ever read
I just want to say that Fake ID is my favorite book because I don't like to read boring books, and Fake ID had me glued to the book.

Hannah

Fake ID review-- why 4 not 5 stars
This novel was incredible. It managed to be intriguing as well as funny and relatable, all in a murder mystery book. It incorporated many elements, such as morality, racism, love, etc. The plotline itself was incredible and reading as the mystery unfolded was even better.

If I think the book is THAT amazing, why not 5 stars? Well (Spoiler-ish), the ending wasn't... it just wasn't suitable. I turned the page expecting another chapter or a "1 year later..." kind of thing. Instead, I got acknowledgements. It ends with Whispertown unresolved, and a very upset reader. I was left wondering what was the fate of the once lovebirds and what happened to his mother and are they leaving the program and what is the fate of Wispertown.

I expect a sequel :))))))

Aalycia Beard

Fake ID By: Lamar Giles
This engrossing thriller blends gritty crime storytelling with solid, realistic family drama. Nick and his family are in the Witness Protection Program, due to his father's past association with a dangerous crime boss. However, they are continually forced to move and switch identities because of Nick's father's continued criminal ventures. Nick worries that another move will destroy the renewed sense of possibility that he's found through his job on the school paper, his friend Eli, and Eli's attractive sister, Reya. That's before he finds Eli's body and begins to suspect that Eli's death isn't the suicide it's made out to be. Nick's attempts to investigate lead to revelations about the town, his friends, and his family. Giles ably handles multiple themes, not shying away from the racial tension that exists in the small southern town (Nick is African-American, and Eli and Reya are Latino), while avoiding making it a primary focus. This mature crime story expands beyond high school walls to address the challenges of maintaining meaningful relationships and the cost of loyalty.
Fake ID by Lamar Giles is a book that combines action and mystery very well. The plot of the story was strikingly different from other books but in a good way, however, there were some parts of the book I found boring. The reason why I found some parts boring was because the author talked about topics in the book that were not relatable to the actual story line. Aside from that I thought it was a wonderful book that explained and showed characters really well. An example of this is when Nick is talking to the reader about his backstory. I would recommend this book to a young adult audience and people who like action and mystery.

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Author Information

Lamar Giles Author Biography

Photo: Adrienne Giles

Lamar Giles is the author of the acclaimed novels The Getaway, The Last Last-Day-of-Summer, Not So Pure and Simple, SPIN, Fake ID, and has written for globally beloved brands like DC Comics, Star Wars, and National Geographic. He is a three-time Mystery Writers of America Edgar Award nominee, a recipient of the Black Caucus of the American Library Association's Youth Literary Award, and founding member of the non-profit We Need Diverse Books. He resides in Virginia with his family.

Link to Lamar Giles's Website

Other books by Lamar Giles at BookBrowse

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