Abduction! - Hardcover

Peg Kehret was born in Wisconsin, grew up in Minnesota, spent fourteen years in California, and now lives with her husband in Washington State. They have two grown children, four grandchildren, one dog, and one cat.

Peg's novels for children are regularly recommended by the American Library Association, the International Reading Association, and the Children's Book Council. She has won many state "young reader" or "children's choice" awards. Peg's characters are ordinary kids who find themselves in exciting situations and who use their wits to solve their problems. There is usually humor as well as suspense in her books. A long-time volunteer at The Humane Society, she often uses animals in her stories.

Before she began writing books for children, Peg published plays, short stories, articles, and two books for adults. She is a frequent speaker at conferences for librarians and teachers.

At the age of twelve, Peg had polio and was paralyzed from the neck down. Because she can remember that experience and her year of recovery so vividly, she finds it easy to write in the viewpoint of a twelve or thirteen year old. Most of her main characters are that age. Her autobiography, Small Steps: The Year I Got Polio, won the Golden Kite Award from the Society of Children's Book Writers & Illustrators, and the PEN Center USA West Award for Children's Literature.

When she is not writing, Peg likes to watch baseball, bake cookies, and pump her old player piano.

Grade 4-7–Matt, a kindergartener, meets his 13-year-old half sister every day after school for the ride home. When he fails to show up, Bonnie immediately notifies his teacher and principal, and a full-scale search ensues. Even though Matt has been taught "stranger danger," he is lured into the kidnapper's car with his own dog, stolen from his house. The kidnapper is the boy's father, whom he has never met, and who tells Matt that his mother and sister are dead. So even though the boy knows his phone number, he doesn't try to call. The story portrays a kidnapper's determination and the ease with which a child can be swayed by a stranger despite years of teaching. The novel also does a good job of incorporating modern-day search techniques, such as an Amber Alert, and explaining their use. The plot stretches a bit when Bonnie spots her brother at a Seattle Mariners game, but it does make for a suspenseful ending as she also becomes a victim. The story is resolved happily but with a twist showing the remorse of the people who could have helped along the way but didn't for various reasons. This novel has enough suspense to keep children interested, and it will also appeal to reluctant readers.–Diana Pierce, Running Brushy Middle School, Cedar Park, TX
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