As a storyteller and school librarian, islander Bob Jonas knows what kids like to read. As a writer of young adult fiction, he knows how to hook his audience — create a challenge for the youthful protagonist in a tough position and see how they do. In his latest novel, “Imposter,” a 16-year-old American boy at an international school in Saudi Arabia masquerades as an online cleric, and the stunt causes serious fallout. Jonas will discuss “Imposter” at 6 p.m. Thursday, April 21, at Vashon Bookshop.

Jonas said his intent for writing the book was to open the eyes of teens about life in other countries through an uncommon subject — students who go to school abroad.

“Although students who attend international schools are seldom the subjects of YA (young adult) fiction,” he wrote in a press release, “their lives are filled with political intrigue, exposure to espionage, governmental overthrow and war. With so many headlines dealing with terrorism and Saudi Arabia’s support of terrorists, ‘Imposter’ … will help fill an information void that exists in part of the world incomprehensible to millions of teen readers.”

With 21 years as a school librarian under his belt, Jonas has worked on four continents and in seven schools, including Beaverton, Oregon; Shanghai, Beijing and Hong Kong in China; Santiago, Chile; Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; and Erlangen, Germany. His more than two decades of experience provide ample fodder for his novels and goal of making foreign concepts accessible to his readers.

“In Riyadh, inside the walls of the school, the swimming pool has to be refrigerated,” Jonas said, “and everything is so restricted.”

“Imposter” protagonist Zane Walker is worried about that restriction, among other concerns, when he learns his parents’ plan to move to Saudi Arabia. He and his sister write a list of the “Good Stuff” and “Bad Stuff” about the country in an attempt to dissuade their parents — to no avail. The family relocates, and before long Walker “begins to live where he is, gets used to things,” Jonas writes in the book.

So when Walker has to use social media to fabricate an online personality for his media studies class, he pretends to be a cleric, a “tele-Imam who casts fatwahs or religious edicts,” and he ends up creating an international incident.

Jonas and his wife, Susan Stonach, moved to the island last September, when Stonach became the new librarian at Vashon High School. After so many years overseas, Jonas said he and Stonach are happy to have landed on Vashon.

“We didn’t want to come home to something normal,” he said. “Vashon is the next part of our adventure. We love it. We’ll have to be taken off the island feet first.”