From Orca Books: “I looked at his driver’s license. He was five foot nine, 150 pounds and had blue eyes. What do you know? Same as me. I almost laughed. Funny how we could be so much alike and so different at the same time. Andrew Ashbury got everything he could ever want and I got nothing. How did that happen? I stared at his face. What was so great about him? He was no better than me.”

Chris is tempted to become someone else.  When Chris finds a wallet on the street he tries to return it to its owner. In trouble at home and at school, he is struggling to do the right thing. However, as circumstances slowly start unraveling and his whole life appears headed down the drain, Chris realizes that the person who owns the wallet looks a lot like him and has a life he would do almost anything for. What if he switched identities? What if he became someone else?

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Orca Book Publishers is an organization that produces fiction for reluctant readers, especially readers on the lower spectrum, with a reading level between second grade and fourth grade.  I.D. comes from the Orca Soundings series, which is for those ages 12+, and is written in a way that the reader, especially a reluctant reader, can easily understand.  

As I read this novel, I was rubbed the wrong way by the main character, Chris.  He is a real jerk.  I have no sympathy for people who sit there and mope about how horrible their life is, but refuse to do anything about it.  I also can’t stand people who look at those around them and compare themselves; coveting what they have.  The sense of entitlement that our generation has is astounding, and it’s quite obnoxious.  Chris is a wonderful representation of the attitude many young people have nowadays–and it’s scary.  Grant is such a talented writer and she manages to capture Chris’ mentality and mannerisms perfectly.  Yet, while I was reading I was nervous because I couldn’t figure out how Grant was going to give him any redeeming qualities and also create a life lesson in her book.  Luckily, Grant took care of that at the very end of the novel.  It was like a punch in the gut, but in a good way.  Honestly, if Grant hadn’t ended the novel the way she did, I don’t think I’d be giving it high ratings at all–not because of the writing style (which is phenomenal)–because of Chris.  I dislike him so much, which is actually the purpose of the novel entirely and creates a wonderful life lesson in the end.   Four stars! 

Check out my Orca Book Publishers page for more information, titles, and reviews for reluctant readers!