Promises I Made

August 15, 2015
In this sequel to Lies I Told (2014), Grace tries to atone for the major theft she helped her adoptive parents commit. Grace and her big brother, Parker, were adopted out of the foster-care system by a con-artist couple who taught them the art of grifting. As an outwardly normal-looking family, they planned and pulled off cons on wealthy neighbors. Last year, however, they stole a hoard of gold from the family of Logan, Grace's boyfriend. Parker was captured, and Grace now ditches her adoptive dad, Cormac, to return to the scene of the crime and try somehow to get Parker out of prison. She meets a former grifter who has a beef with Cormac, and they team up to try to catch him so that Grace will have ammunition for a plea deal with the prosecutor. However, finding Cormac may prove to be difficult. Zink keeps pages turning as Grace tries to stay undercover even as she contacts a detective she thinks she can trust. With every choice she makes she seems poised on the edge of a cliff, and readers will feel that vertigo all the way through. Grace's struggle with her guilt and her desire to stay free so she can help Parker lends even further tension to the story. Riveting. (Thriller. 12-18)

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September 1, 2015

Gr 9 Up-In Lies I Told (HarperCollins, 2015), Zink created a perfectly sympathetic character and perfectly paced conflict: Grace Fontaine has been directed by her adoptive parents to get close enough to Logan Fairchild to figure out where his mentally ill father has hidden a stash of gold bars. As Grace falls more and more in love with Logan, the conflict grows, as do the stakes if she is caught. Unfortunately, this sequel does not live up to the promise of the first novel. The pace is much slower, as Grace steals a hefty amount of Cormac's (her adoptive father) money and sets off back to Playa Hermosa in the attempt to free her brother, Parker. She is aided by Detective Castillo, and a bit player, Marcus, from the first novel who plays a much more significant role in this one. With Marcus's help, Grace is able to facilitate Cormac's arrest and extradition in exchange for reduced sentences for herself and Parker. This work is riddled with implausible plot points and serrated ends that are tied a little too tidily for it to be a satisfying conclusion. VERDICT Die-hard fans will want to read this sequel but may mourn the tale that could have been.-Jodeana Kruse, R. A. Long High School, Longview, WA

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