Grace and Parker were adopted by a couple of con artists. Their cobbled-together family moves from state to state, integrating themselves into wealthy communities, learning the habits of their marks, and then robbing them blind. But the strain of leading this duplicitous life begins to send fissures through the family, and as their double-dealing house of cards comes crashing down around them, Grace's deepening feelings for the handsome Logan, her assigned mark, only make the situation more complicated and wrenching. Grace is a complex and compelling character. Her parents give her a true sense of belonging, something that was missing while she was in the foster system. But what she fails to recognize, and what causes increasing conflict between her and Parker, is that by making the teens complicit in a series of long cons, her adoptive parents are being psychologically abusive, ultimately destroying Grace's ability to have any real friendships or relationships. The sense of foreboding that pervades the novel explodes at the end, with irreparable damage to everyone. An addictive read.

Adopted by two con artists, Grace Fontaine moves with her family into a new city, where they case their mark, execute the job, and move on. Their newest job, to steal the gold stockpile of a mentally ill millionaire, is their biggest ever. Grace knows how to keep her heart out of the game, but when she begins making real friends and falls for the millionaire's son, everything gets complicated. When a small slip puts the whole con at risk, she begins to question the realities of her life as never before. But the con has gone too far, and she has to see it through, which means losing the boy she loves and possibly her family.Zink has created a unique protagonist that allows her to explore a wide range of interesting problems. From the nature of true friendship to one's family responsibilities, Grace delves into a lot of different emotions that will connect to many teens. The plot moves very slowly, however, retracing a lot of the same ground and resulting in a lack of tension and believability. Several plot elements, including a next-door neighbor and mean girl, come and go with little connection. In the end, too many things are left open for this to be anything but the first book in a series, even though there is no indication of more to come. It will certainly appeal to teens who enjoy characters placed in usual situations, but those looking for an action-packed thriller should look elsewhere.Rachel Wadham.

Gr 9 Up-Fans of romance and a good heist will fall in love with Lies I Told . Grace is a foster child who has been adopted by a pair of con artists, and they are the closest thing she has to a real family. Her brother, another adopted foster child, is finding the life of constant deception increasingly unsatisfactory. He's ready to get out, and he wants Grace to come with him. Parker's entreaties would be more successful if Grace wasn't falling irrevocably in love with their newest mark. Zink uses a fabulous vocabulary to build a tale of deception and mixed loyalties that effortlessly draws readers in and allows them to vicariously experience the tension of living a lie while trying to be completely transparent with a love interest. The victims of the graft are sympathetic characters, and Grace can be forgiven her deception since she must make an untenable choice between first love and familial abandonment or betrayal of a truly good person and an artificial family. Zink liberally includes the palpitating hearts and more mature, steamy love scenes that many young adult readers have come to expect in an action-packed tale, but leaves her readers dangling with an ending that will leave them demanding more. Jodeana Kruse, R. A. Long High School, Longview,WA