Determined, after his mother's accidental death, to foil his stepfather's plans for his future, fourteen-year-old Jacob travels alone to Africa in search of his father, a biologist studying elephants in a remote area of Kenya. Roland Smith is the author of Zach's Lie , an ALA Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers Cryptid HuntersThunderCave JaguarThe Last Lobo and Sasquatch . He lives outside of Portland, Oregon, with his wife Marie, who also writes children's books.