A criminal organization is looking for a mother, father, and son. Adding a daughter to mix might throw them off. If she accepts, Nicki Demere will cease to exist. No more absent father, no more court-mandated therapy, no more criminal record, but that also means no contact with her former life and the friends she has in the system.
It's an easy decision. Nicki, now Charlotte, has a new family and a new life in Durham, North Carolina, and she has the street smarts to help keep them all safe. Surviving witness protection is all about blending in, and Charlotte has plenty of experience with that.
But the stresses of living with a new family, and a younger brother who definitely does not want her around and pretending to be a new person even with her friends are getting to her, and that means her kleptomania is flaring up. She doesn't steal things to have them or to sell them. It's just for that instant release she feels once she's taken something. But if her new family finds out she's a thief, will they still want to keep her around?
Of course, none of this will matter if their enemies find them, and they are working very hard to do just that so they can eliminate this problem permanently.
I really enjoyed this new book by Jake Burt. It checks plenty of boxes for young readers and handles Nicki's kleptomania particularly well. The witness protection angle is something different that will draw kids into this perfect balance of mystery and school story. My only issue is the use of social media. Any mention of social media can instantly date a book which is probably why plenty of authors make up their own instead of using existing ones, but this one is starting out behind the times. I'm pretty sure no one in 7th-grade blogs about anything, and I know they don't use Facebook. It's for old people. That said, I think kids will be willing to overlook this because the rest of the story is so great. Highly recommended.
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