Looking For a Good Book

Mike believes he has witnessed a kidnapping and, only a young boy, he has to tell an adult what he’s seen to help the girl who was taken. But Mike tells the wrong adult and the next thing he knows, he is waking up in a dark, damp, dungeon-like room. Mike is not alone, however. Carrie, the kidnapped girl, is in the cell with him.

Carrie is the daughter of a wealthy family in the city. She’s been kidnapped for ransom. Mike is the son of a farmer, unfamiliar with city ways. But he’s observant and clever.

There’s no food, no water, not even any light, and Mike fears that their only possible salvation is to escape – but the men who’ve taken them are still about. If he can figure out where they are, Mike might be able to bring both he and Carrie to safety.

I didn’t know anything about this book when I received a free copy from the publisher, other than that it’s a ‘classic’, worthy of republication. So I went into this blind.

I didn’t realize that this was written for a middle-grade or YA audience, but it became apparent quite quickly. The story, and the writing, is simple and direct. Although there’s plenty of danger, with the kidnappers around and the threat (even if not directly told) of being killed, and yet I never felt the intensity of such a situation. It was danger appropriate for the target audience.

This is a quick, direct read. There are no subplots – it’s just ‘problem’ and the attempt to solve the problem.

This is not a book I’d be quick to recommend, though if someone were looking for an adventurous thriller for children, depending on what else they like to read, I might suggest this.

Looking for a good book? Escape Into Daylight by Geoffrey Household is an adventure thriller suitable for very young readers.

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Escape Into Daylight

author: Geoffrey Household

publisher: Open Road Media Teen and Tween

ISBN: 9781480411074 

Kindle Edition, 130 pages