Jacked
by Carrie Mac
Orca Book Publishers, 2009
ISBN 978-1-55469-184-5
$9.95, 125 pp, ages 12+
www.orcabook.com
The main character in this novel is Zane, a high school aged boy who works part-time at a gas station/convenience store. He refers to himself as a “garden-variety loner.” During one of his morning shifts Zane decides to close the gas station for “five minutes” so he can drive to a nearby deli for a burrito, and a look at the girl who works there. Before he can pull out onto the road his passenger door opens. Zane turns his head and finds himself face to face with a masked man who waves a gun in Zane’s face and says just one word—Drive! At first Zane thinks this is a prank played by a co-worker but soon realizes it is no prank. Zane offers the fellow money, even his beloved car, Victorious, but the gunman just keeps telling Zane to drive. Like the route the gunman forces Zane to take, this story takes many twists and turns. Once they reach their final destination, this unlikely duo find themselves standing together when faced with adversity and prejudice. This novel is aimed at reluctant readers who are in high school. There are a few sexual references and some swearing. Author Carrie Mac has won the Arthur Ellis YA Award and a Canadian Library Association award.
This review is from Canadian Teacher Magazine’s January 2010 issue.
