| 1. | Zach's family had to leave most of their possessions behind in a hurry.
If you suddenly had to leave your home, knowing that you would never be able to go back, name two things you would take with you.
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| 2. | Zach didn't want to change his hair, but he agreed to wear blue contact lenses. How would you change your appearance if you knew it might save your life? |
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| 3. | If you haven't yet read the sequel, Jack's Run, predict at least one thing you think might happen. |
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| 4. | Why did Peter Short dislike Zach so much? Did his feelings really have to do with Zach? |
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| 5. | Zach had to give up his past life when he enters the Witness Security Program. What would you miss the most if you suddenly had to start your life over completely? |
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| 6. | What do you suppose kids at Zach's old school thought happened to Zach? If someone from your school disappeared overnight, what would you think happened to him? |
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| 7. | Jack became Zach, but he was upset that he didn't get to choose his name. If you could choose a new name for yourself, what would it be? Why? |
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| 8. | Zach is shocked to find out his father was involved with illegal activities. How much do you know about your own parents' jobs? Could you imagine that they would ever do anything illegal? Why or why not? |
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| 9. | Zach has to keep a lot of secrets. Would you be very good at not telling anyone anything about your life if you suddenly moved to a new school or town? Why or why not? |
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| 10. | If you were in Zach's position, which do you think would be harder to do:
1) remembering not to slip up? or
2) wanting to be able to tell people you like about your old life but not being able to?
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| 11. | Zach's imaginary friend, Commander IF, had been out of Zach's life for a while. Why do you suppose he started carrying him around again? |
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| 12. | When some kids at Zach's school get in trouble, they are sent to the custodian's office to hit a punching bag. Do you think that would work well? Why or why not? And what do you do when you get angry? |
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| 13. | Darrell tells Zach about the Three E's of Elko: Everyone knows Everything about Everybody. Can you think of any ways it might be a good thing to live in a small town where everyone knows everyone else? |
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| 14. | Why do you think Zach wrote in his journals? Did you figure out that his journals might give his secrets away? |
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| 15. | If you were in Sam's shoes after escaping the KGB, where would you hide? Why do you think he chose to be a custodian in Elko, Nevada? |
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| 16. | While you were reading the story, were you ever worried that Sam was really working for the bad guys? Why or why not?
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| 17. | Do you think Alonzo will come back to get even with Sam? Why or why not? |
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| 18. | When he got to choose his next alias, why do you suppose Zach chose the name Mackenzie? |
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| 19. | At the end of this book, Zach's father rejoins the family. How do you suppose Zach feels about seeing his father again? Why? |
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| 20. | Most chapters in this book started with part of Zach's journal entries. Did you like how the author did this? Why or why not? |
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| 21. | Are the lies Zach's family told about themselves really lies? How is deception different than lying? And is it ever okay to tell lies? |
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| 22. | Were Agent Pelton and the Drug Enforcement Agency able to keep Zach's family safe? What else could have been done to protect them? |
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| 23. | Is Zach's dad a "good" father? Why or why not? |
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| 24. | Why do you think it seemed harder for Jack to change to Zach than it was for his sister Joanne to change to Wanda? |
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| 25. | When he was nine years old, Jack broke both legs falling out of a window, and it took him a long time to recover and learn to walk again. How do you think this bad experience helped him after he became Zach? |
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| 26. | What would you do if you suddenly woke up to intruders in your room at night? Was what happened to Jack realistic? Why or why not? |
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| 27. | Do you think Zach's father had put his own notebook in the Jack in the Box knowing that Zach would find it? What do you think will happen to the notebook in the sequel? |
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| 28. | Were there any stereotypes in this book? Think about the Basques, drug kingpins, federal marshals. Did some of these characters seem predictable? And is that a good thing, or a bad thing? Why? |
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| 29. | Zach does a lot of things that are probably unsafe or that risked him blowing his family's cover. Name one, then think of how Zach could have handled it better. |
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| 30. | There is more to Sam than you would expect from a school custodian. Besides having Zach use the punching bag in his office under the stage, he offers Zach a job, he shares meals with him, he helps Zach's mom work on starting up her bookstore, he goes with Zach to Catalin's grandfather's sheep camp. Why do you think Sam was so nice to Zach? |
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| 31. | Who do you think was most responsible for the Granger's discovery? Why? |
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| 32. | When Uncle Don tells Zach that people Zach's age are often the ones who endanger their families by blowing their cover, Zach says, "This made me mad. Everyone thinks I'm the one who's going to slip up." Do you think it was Zach's fault that they were caught? Was he justified in his anger? |
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