Publishers Weekly
01/25/2021
A family perpetually flees from a man with a lizard tattoo in this intriguing middle grade mystery. Six years prior to this book’s start, Igor Watson’s father “saw someone do a terrible thing”; ever since, the family has been on the run, changing towns and identities, and reporting to a witness protection agency, the Protectors, each time an ambiguous character known only as the Lizard Man tracks them down. Now 12, Igor—his most recent alias—persuades his parents that he should attend school. Slowly settling in, making friends, and experiencing bullying, Igor realizes just how restrictive his family’s rules are: always be home before dark, keep the curtains closed, lie about the family’s background. As Igor’s cover story starts to slip and he feels an odd sense of familiarity in his “new” town, he must decide just how far to trust his friends, even as he questions his father’s stability and the Lizard Man’s very existence. Against a suspenseful backdrop, Lawrence (The Skeleton Tree) pits Igor’s longing for normalcy against the precautions he takes to keep his family safe, creating a rapidly moving story with an interesting emotional arc. Ages 9–12. Agent: Jane Jordan Browne, Browne & Miller Literary. (Mar.)
From the Publisher
"Featuring effective worldbuilding, this is a great, suspenseful tale of terror for upper middle graders."—School Library Journal
"a rapidly moving story with an interesting emotional arc."—Publishers Weekly
"Tension drives the gripping tale to a pulse-pounding conclusion." —The Horn Book
"Lawrence . . . offers a menacing, contemporary tale of dread, danger, and revenge. Portraying family dynamics and middle-school antics with equal insight and attention to detail, Igor’s first-person narrative is absorbing." —Booklist
"Readers seeking a (relatively safe) thriller will likely find this fills the bill, with an added bonus of a memorably complex but relatable narrator." —The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
"Friendship difficulties provide a contrast and an anchor to the terrifying threat, and the various plot elements are deftly tied together in a fitting twist that will have readers quickly turning the pages. . . . Filled with suspense and intrigue." —Kirkus Reviews
"Lawrence is a gifted storyteller and this book presents a good story with some twists and turns. . . The heart of the story is about finding a place to feel safe and overcoming past trauma and those are certainly good messages." —School Library Connection
School Library Journal
02/01/2021
Gr 3–7—Igor and his family have been running for as long as he can remember, ever since his father witnessed a crime. But now he is 12, and this time he gets to choose his new name while his father chooses his boundaries, where he can go alone, and mostly where he cannot. Breaking those boundaries was how Igor came to discover Rutherford B. Hayes Middle School and his absolute desire to be there. He has never had friends or any idea what a normal life could be until he insists on going to school. His first friends ever Zoe (an edgy goth girl who changes her identity yearly by choice) and Angelo (an Italian American former class bully) push him to start a new adventure without fear of the past and fear of the Lizard Man, who threatened his family all those years ago. Just as Igor begins to ask questions, the Lizard Man reappears. Featuring effective worldbuilding, this is a great, suspenseful tale of terror for upper middle graders. The hurried ending is the novel's only flaw. VERDICT A solid addition to middle school collections.—Sarah Voels, Cedar Rapids P.L., IA
Kirkus Reviews
2020-12-15
The Lizard Man is after his family—or so a tween believes.
By the time Igor, his unlikely chosen name, has reached his 12th birthday, he wants it all to end. He and his parents and little sister have been on the run from the person he’s dubbed the Lizard Man, after his distinctive tattoo. When he was 5, his father reported a crime, after which they hurriedly left town; now they move frequently and keep to themselves while Dad reports to the Protectors. In their current town, Igor finally convinces his father to let him attend school, where he makes friends and plays sports and computer games for the first time. Goth Zoe favors black clothing and makeup. Angelo becomes his constant companion, even inviting him for a sleepover. In the company of his new friends and sometimes on his own, Igor begins to explore their town (against his father’s firm directives), feeling a strange sense of familiarity with the streets and buildings. It is in Deadman’s Castle, an odd building filled with underground rooms and passages, that Igor, his friends, and the Lizard Man come together in a life-threatening encounter. Friendship difficulties provide a contrast and an anchor to the terrifying threat, and the various plot elements are deftly tied together in a fitting twist that will have readers quickly turning the pages. Main characters are cued as White.
Filled with suspense and intrigue. (Mystery. 9-12)
