Hide and Seek
Gr 5-8–With his new GPS, 14-year-old Chase is eager to explore geocaching in the high foothills near his remote Arizona tourist town. Mountain biking to the site of a woodland geocache, he and his dog, Dexter, find a cryptic note that leads to an eventual encounter with two young, wary brothers. As Chase befriends the boys and learns of their hidden campsite and strange, reclusive father, he suspects this may be a case of parental kidnapping and searches the Internet for clues, successfully identifying the missing boys, then locating and contacting their hopeful mother. Chase's parents are divorced, yet amicable, and he feels loved both by his remarried mom and her husband, Rick, as well as by his dad, who lives in Phoenix. This family support affords Chase strength when he is knocked out and taken captive by the boys' suspicious father. But having told his family nothing about all his investigations, there is a coming-of-age lesson when Chase, relying on his own resources, narrowly escapes and must traverse the hazardous desert in the dark of night. Mystery and adventure propel this readable survival story that will hit the spot with Gary Paulsen's fans and may also entice reluctant readers.Susan W. Hunter, Riverside Middle School, Springfield, VT© Copyright 2010.  Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc.  No redistribution permitted.