The Good Girl's Guide to Getting Kidnapped

Your average fifteen-year-old has enough to deal with, especially when it comes to making good decisions. Can you imagine trying to be one type of person: star athlete, brilliant student, loving daughter and gracious friend...all the while begrudging her roots: family and friends she left far behind on the rough streets of Montebello, California. When Michelle comes face to face with her past she has to make a decision...fix the mistakes made by her brother and mother or rebuff any insinuated obligations and do whats best for her future as a star athlete at an Ivy league prep school with her best friend Kiki. But as Michelle (AKA Princess P) finds out, like most things in life, her decision won't be that easy and whatever she chooses will ultimately affect not only her but the people she loves. Should she follow the path of the mother (the gangs queen, Reina, who is in prison) who claims to love her, but always keeps her at arms length or stay with her foster pop Frank who Michelle knows loves her despite his claims foster-father insanity. Her ultimate deciding factor may be Silver, a gang member and the love of her life that she left behind when she went into foster care. He's one of the boys who kidnap her and Kiki...will he ever get over his anger and feelings of abandonment? I enjoyed this well written urban street lit but was a little unnerved by the ending...I won't give anything away but I'm wondering if there will be a sequel? Kids who like to read about urban teens, gang life and all that it entails will enjoy this face paced story. There is a lot of street slang and some mature language so the book is best suited for 8th grade and up.

Michelle has finally got her life on track and has a wonderful opportunity to get into a nice private school. She gets awesome grades and is even a great athlete. She has a terrific foster father and a super-duper best friend, Kiki - but she also has a past that refuses to let her go. I loved this book, which is a pleasant surprise because I didn't think I would! Ms. Murray really has done a great job with the language and settings for this. I was sucked in with the first page, just like a Hoover vacuum in a sandpile! There were times that I felt I was in the story, maybe even Michelle herself! It was just such a kick-butt book with lots of action and I really felt for Michelle. She was really struggling inside, even amid all the danger she and Kiki were in, just trying to figure out where she really belonged. The ending, however, left me with mixed feelings because it doesn't really end. It just sort of comes to a point and leaves it up to you to decide what you think happens next. I feel like it was left this way maybe because there is going to be a sequel. At least I hope so, anyhow, because it was so good! Reviewed by: JenJen