Abduction!

I did not receive the right Book! It isn't even by Peg Kehret!

ABDUCTION is an excellent suspense novel with a lot of good information about what families go through and can do in the event of an abduction. Peg Kehret combines a tremendous amount of facts throughout the tense narrative, such as the fact that most kidnapped children are taken by non-custodial parents and how an Amber alert works. But the story is the real draw here. Matt, a kindergartener, goes missing from his school. His kidnapper is his biological father, a man he's never laid eyes on. Denny Thurman, Matt's dad, is a gambling addict whose latest scheme involves "borrowing" money from his sister and brother-in-law to raise his son. Thirteen-year-old Bonnie, Matt's sister, gets caught up in the search for her little brother. Kehret pulls the reader into Bonnie's world, sharing her helplessness and frustration as well as the sharp fear that fills her. The pacing is frantic as the reader flips back and forth between the scenes involving Bonnie, Matt, the kidnapper, and a few extra characters (like the elderly couple that finds the abandoned family dog, Pookie, and decides to take him home). The climax of the book is exciting and uses a lot of the Seattle setting shown in the novel. Bonnie is a true heroine, but she's not of the Wonder Woman variety. She uses her wits and her heart, and stands her ground with the kidnapper to protect her little brother. ABDUCTION is a great read to share with a pre-teen or even to be read to an aggressive third- or fourth-grader who likes being read to. My son and I enjoyed this book a lot, but some of the tense scenes made him nervous. He couldn't stop thinking about Matt and his situation until we turned the last page. More than that, he knows more about Stranger Danger and that there are a lot of agencies that look for missing children.

The Amber Alert goes off. You turn on your T.V. faster than a man running across hot coals. Someone has been reported missing. Abduction is a scary thought, especially when you are very young. Most of us have been told to never to talk to strangers. Unfortunately, an eight-year-old boy named Matt encounters this situation in Abduction! Matt was excused to go to the bathroom one day at school. On the way, he met a stranger. The stranger lied to him and told him his dog Pookie was hurt. He said Pookie was in the car, and Matt went into the car. He doesn't realize his father kidnapped him. The eight-year-old struggles through many hard times while he was a hostage to his dad, who also was his mom's ex-husband. Matt realizes his father gambles often, and because of that, he loses money frequently. His dad tells another lie, saying his mom and sister were in a car accident and died. In Abduction!, the author shows the importance of family and not talking to strangers. This book is filled with adventure, sadness, and happiness. It teaches a valuable lesson to go along with the twists and turns of the exciting plot.

In this day and age...no mater how you drill into your kids the stranger danger phrase, you just never know. As a mom, I was introduced to this book by our library who did a book discussion group for grades 6-8. What an EXCELLENT choice! It's a fiction title that can educate your child as to the dangers of child abduction, and how easily a child can be tricked. I used it as an indepth topic of discussion across the dinner table with my 10 + 11yr old boys....and that sparked the 6yr old's attn as well. Buy this book for your kids...discuss what's going on in the book as they read. Use the topic to educate them -I know that by just reading this book my kids are now safer than they were before...thanks to the author for writing a suspensful and timely book that kids will enjoy reading!

I read this book to my class of 5th grade students, and we loved it. When it came time to stop reading each day, my students would beg me to continue reading. We did not want to put the book down. Almost all of my students voted Abduction their favorite book at the end of the year. Not only is this a wonderful story to get kids excited about reading, it also naturally brings up some issues that children are thinking about. We talked about safety issues related to being abducted and making decisions and how they impact our lives. There was a scene that also stimulated a discussion on alcohol and kids. For students living in Washington State, it was fun to read about the Mariners and Safeco field and other landmarks in our area. We could picture everything so clearly from the descriptive writing. Peg Kehret's books are always appropriate for the classroom, and the children love her stories.

ABDUCTION! is a book were six year-old Matt gets abducted by his own father. When his teacher gives him a hall pass a man named Denny Thurman lures him into his car by claiming that Pookie, the family's dog, and been hurt. After that, the suspense arises as Matt goes through angrey tempers from his father, and Bonnie, Matt's sister, trys everything to find him. ABDUCTION! is a suspensful book with a great characters and believable action. The setting is awesome as the abducter takes Matt from the Safeco Field to ferries in the Puget Sound. I couldn't put the book down or take a break for even a couple minutes! ABDUCTION! is written well for kids and adults alike.