Kaci and her family are moving into a new neighborhood. Her mother thinks it will be much safer than their old neighborhood. One afternoon, however, Kaci runs home to get her allergy medicine, and finds her house being robbed…and the robbers still inside! The robbers kidnap Kaci and her nosy neighbor and lock them inside a van in the middle of nowhere. Kaci must pull her resources and her wits together in order to make it home alive.

I loved this book. It is intended for students 8-12 years…and I think it would scare kids younger than 8. The characters are very real, and the plot is believable. I couldn’t put it down!

In the classroom, since the students would be older, they could write an alternate ending to the story and come up with their own ideas about how Kaci could have gotten out of her dangerous situation. This could also be an opportunity to talk about safety when home alone, maybe even involving the school counselor.

i read this book when i was younger and i love. i always have. its a great scare for younger kids. ( )