Greetings from Witness Protection!

Starred review from July 31, 2017
The biggest complaint that readers may have about Burt’s debut novel is that it ends. Sassy, snarky Nicki Demere—a 13-year-old foster kid with a big heart and the quick hands of a seasoned thief—is commissioned by the U.S. marshals to join a family in the Witness Protection Program that is hiding from one of the deadliest crime organizations in the country. As daughter Charlotte, she’ll help them fly under the radar in North Carolina. Nicki/Charlotte is caustically charming (“I wondered how much pressure you could lift off new kids at a school if they could say ‘Sorry, I’d try harder, but the U.S. government ordered me not to be that cool’ ”), and despite her propensity to pick people’s pockets when she’s nervous, her eagerness to love (and be loved) and her unabashed bluntness make her endearing from page one. Burt nimbly balances the very real danger the family is in with new family/new town hijinks that keep the story light; Charlotte’s banter with her new “brother” is spot-on funny, and the nail-biter of a climax doesn’t disappoint. Ages 10–14. Agent: Rebecca Stead, Book Group.

July 1, 2017

Gr 5-8-What do you get when you mix a snarky city girl with a shady past and lightning reflexes with a seemingly typical suburban family she's just met? A funny, action-packed novel about the trials of school, parental arguments, and sibling rivalry-all with a dash of high-stakes thrills and dramatic showdowns. Nicki Demere has been living in foster care ever since her father was arrested, biding her time until her father comes to bring her home. But FBI agents arrive first. They want Nicki to be part of an inaugural program that trains and places selected foster children with families under witness protection, thereby changing the nature of the families' makeup so they are harder to track down. Spurred on by a disappointing revelation about her own family, Nicki agrees. Despite the protagonist's tough, wisecracking exterior, she finds herself building bonds and connecting with the new people in her life: shy gamer Britt, chirpy student council member Holly, and, most of all, her new family, even sullen young Jackson. But will Nicki's past and her many secrets threaten all she is starting to care about? Young fans of Ally Carter's "Gallagher Girls" spy novels and the "Heist Society" art thief series will relish the action and fast-paced plot as well as the engaging and competent Nicki, whose emotional strength and quick wits carry her through much of the narrative. VERDICT Difficult topics are touched upon but swiftly resolved, making this light read a good choice for tween collections.-Evelyn Khoo Schwartz, Georgetown Day School, Washington, DC

Copyright 2017 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from October 15, 2017
Grades 4-7 *Starred Review* When Nicki Demere, 13, is plucked from the foster-care system by two U.S. marshals, she isn't expecting to become one herself. But there is, you see, a family in witness protection hiding from a notorious criminal family, and the government thinks that adding an extra kid to the protected family will strengthen its disguise. And who better than adaptable, pickpocket extraordinaire Nicki? Fitted out with a brand-new name (Charlotte Trevor), strict instructions not to stand out (she's to get a B-minus average, make a few friends without getting super-popular, and practice a sport without excelling), and a shiny Taser (only because she begged), plucky Nicki/Charlotte adjusts to her new life and family, complete with an obnoxious younger brother. But flying under the radar is harder than it seems, and it will take every bit of street smarts she has to keep herself and her new family safe. Burt, a fifth-grade teacher, nails the tween voice in his fiction debut. Nicki, sassy but lonely, is an endearing, easy-to-root-for heroine, and the bonds she forms with the Trevor family as well as her numerous escapades charm as easily as they entertain. A delightful, sometimes touching balance of action, humor, and heart.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)