Nicki is in foster care. Her next placement may be the oddest choice ever! She's placed with a family entering witness protection and she's tasked with helping to keep them safe. Tough job for a tween! Through mishaps and mayhem, Nicki holds it all together but soon realizes the biggest threat to the mission, and her new life, may be herself!

Nicki is a foster kid whose father is in prison and whose grandmother taught her to pick pockets before she died. Nicki's quick hands and quick wit make her a perfect candidate for a new family program started by the US Marshals. Nicki is placed with a family in hiding, becoming their additional daughter to help keep the bad guys off their tail. Now known as Charlotte, Nicki will face her biggest challenge - getting along with a younger brother. This book releases on Tuesday, but I was fortunate to read an early copy from NetGalley. I love the family relationship in this book and Nicki is a fantastic main character. I hope she comes back in a second book.

Compulsively readable. This book had me hooked practically from the first sentence.

The story explores familial relationships in an unusual context, to say the least.

The concept of an abandoned child being placed with a family in witness protection might seem to stretch credulity just a bit. But the premise is so unique and fraught with dangerous pitfalls, one can easily overlook that.

The story is well-told, the characters distinctive, the plot is non-stop, and the resolution ... just perfect.

Jake Burt's "Greetings from Witness Protection!" is everything I want from a middle grade novel. It is fun, funny, and full of adventure. It also has just the right amount of angst to satisfy those readers who want to read YA but aren't quite ready yet. Readers will laugh at Nicki's experiences with her new "brother" and her struggles to be perfectly average and believe that they, too, deserve their very own Taser. A great book with great lessons and a happy ending that will leave readers begging for more. 5/5 stars.

Nicki has been in the foster system since her dad went to jail and her grandma died. She hasn’t been able to stick to any of the families she has been placed with. Then she learns her dad has been out of jail for awhile and hasn’t come to claim her. So when the US Marshalls ask her to become part of the Witness Protection Program and promises to wipe her juvenile record clean (because grandma taught her how to be a pickpocket), she agrees to become Charlotte Trevor. The family she is placed with consists of mom Harriet, dad Jonathan and little brother Jackson. Harriet testified against her brother who is head of a crime syndicate family. They move to the south and become a new family.

Charlotte and the rest of the family have a bit of adjustment to make. Jackson in particular is not happy with the new situation or the new sister. They also have to maintain a very average appearance which is more work than you would think. The kids have to maintain B- averages in school and only participate in the average number of activities. Charlotte takes to the role with gusto and even makes a friend in neighbor Brit. She does have to work to control her pickpocketing kleptomania however. And she becomes the protector of the family with taser included.

I loved this story. It was really well written and a very fun read. Charlotte was absolutely adorable and relateable. I loved how flawed she was, but how well adjusted at the same time. Her interactions with new brother Jackson were spot on for the way an older sister should treat a younger brother. I also loved how she takes down bullies at school and brings Brit into the light as well. You do have to suspend your disbelief a bit with the story. I am not sure the Witness Protection Program actually recruits foster kids, but maybe they do.

Greetings from Witness Protectio. Is an interesting book. It is a good mix of an action/adventure, family, and friendship story. Nicki is tired of going back and forth from the foster home to foster families. Thankfully, a new government program has just been started and they need her! While Nicki is trying to protect her new family and friends, she learns that she needs them as much as they need her.

Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with a copy for review - in exchange, here it is - my honest review! All opinions are my own and do not reflect the view of any organization that I am affiliated with.

SO! This book is about an orphan, the daughter of a mother who walked out and a pretty talentless burglar dad. Nicki has trouble being adopted, probably because of her sharp tongue and kleptomania. It all changes when she's recruited to help out in a new witness protection program, which adds new family members to further protect the person in question. It's pretty awesome, and she can totally do it! If her wandering fingers don't get her in trouble, that is. Or her attitude. Or her really pissed off new younger brother. Or the really talented members of the mafia who are trying to nab her new family. Or her new computer-literate friend. Good luck!

I loved Nicki! Excuse me, Charlotte. She's very smart and vulnerable and kick-ass and cunning and sweet. Very well-developed and sympathetic. I also LOVED her new best friend whose name escapes me right now. She's a Counter Strike genius with screen name BR1TN3YSP3AR6UN (Oh yeah, her name is Brit!) but crippling shyness IRL. She's pretty awesome. And her U.S. Marshal contact. And basically everybody. It's a bit short at the end and uneven, but gosh darn it was a hell of a ride. I encourage everybody to try it out!

A thirteen year old foster care girl is plucked from the system by the U.S. Marshals for a special training program that places kids with families going into Witness Protection. If anyone is looking for a family with one child for example, they won't look twice at a family with two children. Nicki Demere is a kleptomaniac and a pickpocket. She's observant, clever and can survive anywhere.

She's placed with a family hiding from the mob and they are plopped down in a small town where they have to blend in. At first her new younger brother is miserable and not only hates their new situation but also can't stand Nicki. She soon blends into her new life at home and at school. And when her family is put into danger she uses her old skills to save them.

The author has captured the scenes in school perfectly. There were times I laughed out loud. I hope there will be a sequel, Nicki Demere is a character I'd like to see more of.

I loved watching Nikki/Charlotte puzzle out her world - even as it became utterly unpredictable. I would definitely want her on my team - for any event. She is loyal, clever, and desperately hoping to keep secrets secret. She has an important job helping to keep a family safe from retaliation, while pretending to not be doing anything. Totally recommend to 5th grade and up!

If you are looking for a FANTASTIC middle grade read to end your year with, this is a great choice! It’s a heartwarming adventure story that involves kleptomania, witness protection, nerdy gamer friends, a deadbeat dad, and all the trappings that truly make family family.

Nicki Demere is an orphan with quick fingers she knows how to use. But when she gets pegged to help save a family in witness protection by joining them in hiding, her life gets turned upside down. She may just be getting a real family after all, but is it worth having to keep so many secrets?

I liked the focus on fitting in vs. standing out. What middle school student doesn’t struggle with finding that perfect balance? Of course, most teens aren’t facing the task of keeping an entire family off the radar so that they can live to see another day. Yeah, not many kids have that problem on their hands, making blending in crucial.

This was such a poignant tale of friendship and family, and it’s wrapped up in an exciting adventure story that is sure to entertain readers of all ages.

Rating: 5/5 stars

My first reaction to his book, as with any book featuring kids involved in law enforcement, was "year right. On further reflection, though, its not a bad idea. If only it weren't rather out of date with the rise of facial recognition. The whole "you must be perfectly average" element is a bit ridiculous, among several other absurd, predictable, and shallow elements. Its ultimately pretty entertaining though.

I received a digital advance reader copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Cute middle-grader read about a family that needs to go in to Witness Protection to avoid a Mob like organization and how the Federal Marshals rope in wards of the state to assist in hiding families. This one - Nicki/Charlotte is a delightful little termagant with an overactive imagination and prone to giving inanimate objects really elaborate names. I loved her. Her family is also fun, especially the parents. The younger brother was annoying - as most younger brothers usually are, I suppose.

Anyway, it's a good, quick read with interesting story and good characters. Nice dialogue and settings. Definitely recommended for 4th graders and up but probably mostly for 5th-7th.

Super enjoyed this MG book by Jake Burt! The storyline was interesting and fast-paced, but it's the characters that cinch the deal---especially Nikki--she's tough, funny, and so smart! Witness Protection is no joke, find out how Nikki's new foster family blends in and stays safe until a series of minor mishaps allow her past and theirs to catch up with them. Buy for your MG library collections and suggest to all fans of a little action-packed, witty, MG fiction.

I loved the characters in this book. The story flowed quickly and kept my attention.

Nicki , a thirteen-year- old girl in foster care, has a troubled past and an unfortunate case of kleptomania that has derailed several of her previous placements. She is back in the group home and desperate for a permanent home when she is unexpectedly selected to be part of a new placement in the witness protection program. She must step into the role of the daughter in a family in hiding from the mob. Nikki’s new mom is a member of a notorious New York crime family and has recently turned state’s evidence against her brothers and many others in the family. She, her husband and son are now under protection and Nicki joins the family to change the family profile so that they may better escape detection. With her street smarts, quick wits and charming personality, Nikki hopes to keep her family safe and find a place for herself in her new home. Filled with heart, humor, some typical girl drama at school, some sibling rivalry at home and an element of danger, it is an enjoyable and fast-paced read. With its strong and smart main character, Greetings is a great choice for middle grade readers. The frequent literary references will appeal to avid readers and the page turning plot will appeal to both reluctant readers and fans of adventure tales.

Despite a totally unbelievable premise, this is a really fun and surprisingly sweet book. Nicki and her new family have issues as they reconcile themselves to a new life, and these issues still stand out against the backdrop of mobsters and false identities. The characters are sweet and relatable, and I think that’s what keeps this book from becoming ridiculous.

Greetings from Witness Protection takes on some serious topics such as abandonment and trust in a children's adventure tale that stretches believability to extremes. It's a fun romp with young main characters you can care about.

Jake Burt hits it out of the ball park with this one. It's rated for middle schoolers, but I have grandchildren and I savored every page.

Although the plot is a little farfetched, it has that plausibility that makes us believe that the feds could really initiate such a program (after all, they've done dumber things, right?). And Nicki's character is dead on, yearning for a real family and protecting herself with a sarcastic shell.

This is one to buy for your kids, your grandkids, or as a gift for your public library. It's that good. With any luck, we'll see a sequel.

*ARC via netgalley*

This book had a neat premise, as an orphan girl who had many experiences with the foster care system becomes a key cog in a plan to disguise a family who is in the witness protection program by adding a child to it. The dynamics of adding a child to an existing family were told with humour and heart. The events seemed authentic both within the family and within the school. All of the characters were well developed, and I could read more with these people and/or more from this writer.