Review: great start to a series for youth
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 05 30, 2013
Reading Risky Assignment made me feel like I wanted to be back in high school - well, at least the reading good books part.In this updated version of Baer's book, several kids at Brentwood High have the opportunity to take a media class and create a 90 second news feature to be aired on the local TV news program. Their teacher suggests interviewing a friend of hers, who has helped high school students volunteer for the rural EMT program. The woman happens to be very pregnant and ready to deliver during the students' interview. They aren't prepared for such excitement but the EMTs come to the rescue. The students pursue the story, centering on of one of the EMTs, a senior in high school who has volunteered for the rural aid program. The action gets intense as the students are allowed to follow the ambulance on one of its calls.This is a great book for high school readers. It has plenty of excitement. (Why is it that the guys are the ones who faint at the sight of blood?)It also has great character studies. One of the fellows on the media team is an egotistical jerk. He is a bitter and cynical young man. Another on the team is a girl in a wheelchair, a result of being hit by a car while riding her bicycle. She is a mature young woman, gracious and very positive. There is much in the novel about her good attitude and the reluctance of others to befriend her because she is "different." There is a good lesson in the book about getting to know others to understand them and why they behave the way they do.While there is talk about God among the students in a very positive way, there is nothing about Jesus. Some of the students do attend church so I am anticipating there will be more of a gospel message as the series progresses.If you want some exciting and clean youth fiction with just a hint of romance, this book makes a great choice.I received a complimentary ebook of this novel from a publicity group for the purpose of this review.