Customer Reviews

Abduction!

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

ABDUCTION is an excellent suspense novel with a lot of good information about what families go through and can do in the event of an abduction. Peg Kehret combines a tremendous amount of facts throughout the tense narrative, such as the fact that most kidnapped children are taken by non-custodial parents and how an Amber alert works.

But the story is the real draw here. Matt, a kindergartener, goes missing from his school. His kidnapper is his biological father, a man he's never laid eyes on. Denny Thurman, Matt's dad, is a gambling addict whose latest scheme involves "borrowing" money from his sister and brother-in-law to raise his son.

Thirteen-year-old Bonnie, Matt's sister, gets caught up in the search for her little brother. Kehret pulls the reader into Bonnie's world, sharing her helplessness and frustration as well as the sharp fear that fills her.

The pacing is frantic as the reader flips back and forth between the scenes involving Bonnie, Matt, the kidnapper, and a few extra characters (like the elderly couple that finds the abandoned family dog, Pookie, and decides to take him home).

The climax of the book is exciting and uses a lot of the Seattle setting shown in the novel. Bonnie is a true heroine, but she's not of the Wonder Woman variety. She uses her wits and her heart, and stands her ground with the kidnapper to protect her little brother.

ABDUCTION is a great read to share with a pre-teen or even to be read to an aggressive third- or fourth-grader who likes being read to. My son and I enjoyed this book a lot, but some of the tense scenes made him nervous. He couldn't stop thinking about Matt and his situation until we turned the last page. More than that, he knows more about Stranger Danger and that there are a lot of agencies that look for missing children.

I read this book to my class of 5th grade students, and we loved it. When it came time to stop reading each day, my students would beg me to continue reading. We did not want to put the book down. Almost all of my students voted Abduction their favorite book at the end of the year.
Not only is this a wonderful story to get kids excited about reading, it also naturally brings up some issues that children are thinking about. We talked about safety issues related to being abducted and making decisions and how they impact our lives. There was a scene that also stimulated a discussion on alcohol and kids.
For students living in Washington State, it was fun to read about the Mariners and Safeco field and other landmarks in our area. We could picture everything so clearly from the descriptive writing.
Peg Kehret's books are always appropriate for the classroom, and the children love her stories.

In this day and age...no mater how you drill into your kids the stranger danger phrase, you just never know. As a mom, I was introduced to this book by our library who did a book discussion group for grades 6-8. What an EXCELLENT choice! It's a fiction title that can educate your child as to the dangers of child abduction, and how easily a child can be tricked. I used it as an indepth topic of discussion across the dinner table with my 10 + 11yr old boys....and that sparked the 6yr old's attn as well.
Buy this book for your kids...discuss what's going on in the book as they read. Use the topic to educate them -I know that by just reading this book my kids are now safer than they were before...thanks to the author for writing a suspensful and timely book that kids will enjoy reading!

The Amber Alert goes off. You turn on your T.V. faster than a man running across hot coals. Someone has been reported missing. Abduction is a scary thought, especially when you are very young. Most of us have been told to never to talk to strangers. Unfortunately, an eight-year-old boy named Matt encounters this situation in Abduction!
Matt was excused to go to the bathroom one day at school. On the way, he met a stranger. The stranger lied to him and told him his dog Pookie was hurt. He said Pookie was in the car, and Matt went into the car. He doesn't realize his father kidnapped him.
The eight-year-old struggles through many hard times while he was a hostage to his dad, who also was his mom's ex-husband. Matt realizes his father gambles often, and because of that, he loses money frequently. His dad tells another lie, saying his mom and sister were in a car accident and died. In Abduction!, the author shows the importance of family and not talking to strangers. This book is filled with adventure, sadness, and happiness. It teaches a valuable lesson to go along with the twists and turns of the exciting plot.

ABDUCTION! is a book were six year-old Matt gets abducted by his own father. When his teacher gives him a hall pass a man named Denny Thurman lures him into his car by claiming that Pookie, the family's dog, and been hurt. After that, the suspense arises as Matt goes through angrey tempers from his father, and Bonnie, Matt's sister, trys everything to find him.

ABDUCTION! is a suspensful book with a great characters and believable action. The setting is awesome as the abducter takes Matt from the Safeco Field to ferries in the Puget Sound. I couldn't put the book down or take a break for even a couple minutes! ABDUCTION! is written well for kids and adults alike.

This book was too realistic for my 10 year old son. Before he read this book, he had confidence and was a happy kid. Now, for the past two weeks since he read Abduction! he cries about if someone is going to abduct him when he is at school or if we are going to die while he is at school. He also will not go out and play with his friends.
I AM A LIBRARIAN who is truly against banning books, but I have to say that this book is placed in the wrong age group reading level. It should be in the middle school level. I would urge any parent to read the book before allowing anyone under the age of 12 to read the book.

It all started when Denny went to Matt's house to get a dog in Matt's so he could make come to his car by telling him that the dog has been runned over.Later Matt wanted to go to the restroom Denny left the dog tied on the post with Matt not noing.The other day Denny told him if he Matt wanted to go to the baseball game he said yes.Bonnie's friends told her if she wanted to go to the game she said yes. When Matt went to the game Bonnie saw Matt,but Matt did not see her.Then they tried to escape from Denny but Denny saw them leave so he got them back.Denny tried to get Bonnie killed, but Matt did not let that happen.The police took them back home safely.

I read this book in a 2 hour sitting. I did not once get up. The chapters just seem to fly. I am an adult reader, and it kept me interested, I can just imagine how it is for kids. This is a really involved book. It's about a little boy that gets kidnapped on his way to the bathroom. His older sister is a very smart girl in this story.. She helps save Matt in the end of the book. She puts her life on the line for him. This book is a good read for teachers, parents and children. It reminds us how we need to constantly be aware of our children.
I'd read it again and again..

This book is GREAT I couldn't stop reading it. A boy named Matt is kidnaped by his father (Matt's parents got divorsed)
The father dressed up as a UPS man and went in the school. He lured Matt in the car by saying that Matt's dog had to go to the vet and thin left the dog at a park. Matt thought it would be cool to be with his father,but he was RONG. It was horibale he got a cool toy 3 days later he lost it! Matt's sister sees matt at a base ball game and follows him and thin she gets kidnaped too! I think that you will like this book a lot B)

Denny Thurman is on a mission to kidnap his kindergarten year old son, Matthew, who he has never met or would barely know of his existence. Denny Thurman is the absentee father with mental health issues. I would warn parents that this book is for older children. Anyway, Kehret's book is about parental abduction. It can be a frightening topic for a child of divorce. Sadly, parental abduction is more common than stranger abduction. Denny Thurman might be clever enough to abduct his own son but he's nothing more than a caricature of a sociopathic personality. While Matt is never abused by his father, they are just strangers with the same blood in their veins.

Anyway while Matt is trying to keep his newfound father happy, his single mother and older sister, Bonnie, are frantic with worry over his abduction and the disappearance of their family dog.

Not to give spoilers, there is a happy ending but not after some frightening moments for the kids themselves.