When Zoe starts researching her family history for a school project, her Gran is strangely evasive. Then Gran dies, leaving Zoe with a pile of unanswered questions.
Zoe’s Mum (Gran’s only child) is wintering in Antarctica, leaving Zoe to attend the funeral and meet the executor of Gran’s will, as well as trying to solve the mystery of just who her Gran was – if she was even her Gran.
Zoe struggles to come to terms with the fact that her Gran had another name and another life before she came to Australia – and that she had taken over someone else’s life on her arrival. With the help of her friend Luke, Zoe finds answers to some of her questions via www.finalthoughts.com, the Dead Person’s Society and the executor of Gran’s will, who hosts a television show called Missing Millions.
But there are some questions, Zoe finds, that don’t have answers. What she has to learn is how to deal with that realisation.
Fake ID is an intriguing tale for teen readers. Part mystery, part personal exploration, and with themes of family and identity, this is a great read for twelve to fifteen year olds, and would also be suitable for class reading.
Fake ID, by Hazel Edwards
Lothian, 2002