Cassie is shocked when she is kidnapped right in front of her house and her mother and stepfather seem to be the ones who set it up. The real shock is when she gets to Mexico and finds herself at Peaceful Cove, a school for petulant teenagers. Cassie is immediately subjected to the harsh treatment at Peaceful Cove including little water and food as well as beatings and something called OP where offenders must lie on their stomachs on hard cement for days, weeks, or months at a time. Cassie realizes that her stepfather, Rick, wants her out of the way because she stumbled on proof that the experimental drug he is using on teens in his psychiatry practice has led to the death of three teens.

Shock Point does have lots of suspense but doesn't handle major plot points in realistic ways, and most of the characters in the story are very one dimensional. Supposedly the teens who graduate leave the school and go out and live normal lives. I had trouble believing that none of them ever raised a red flag about the school. Also, for a doctor who is supposed to be the mastermind of this plot, Rick leaves clues everywhere making it hard to understand how he was never caught before. It isn't clear in the story how Peaceful Cove acquires the funds to stay in business, especially since many of the students remain their for many years - one of the many mysteries in this story that remains unsolved. This is a very quick YA novel and for a young adult, these discrepancies might not be important, but as an adult, this story seems almost like a first draft in which details will be added later. Not recommended. ( )

This was a good book, it showed me that there are people in this world like the evil stepmother in Cinderella and that when you think something is impossible something else impossible will happen to make the impossible possible. ( )

It's like [b:Brokedown Palace|133455|Brokedown Palace|Steven Brust|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172020578s/133455.jpg|1423], but better. I really liked this one. ( )

Reviewed by Me for TeensReadToo.com

When Cassie Streng is abducted by two men in a white van right in front of her own house, she can't at first figure out what's going on. When her mother comes outside and does nothing to stop the men, confusion turns to panic. When her stepfather, Dr. Rick Wheeler, enters the picture, things suddenly become clear. Rick planted drugs in Cassie's room, convinced her mother that she needed more help than they could give her to straighten her out, and is shipping her out to a school/prison in Mexico.

Cassie figures this all out in a few minutes, once she's handcuffed in the back of the van, virtually kidnapped by men who work for Peaceful Cove, and desperate to escape. She knows why this is happening, but she has no way to convince anyone that she's being held against her will for something she didn't do.

Rick Wheeler is a psychiatrist who moved his new family--wife Jackie, stepdaughter Cassie, and soon-to-be-born son away from the town of Minor to Portland. Back in their old town, Rick had a practice that specialized in helping troubled youths. You know the ones--they resist parental authority, smoke, drink, maybe do drugs or have premarital sex. They were the "bad" kids, and Dr. Wheeler used them as guinea pigs for a drug called Socom. Socom's creators billed their new drug, given as an injection, as a breakthrough in adolescent behavior modification. It might be, too, except for the deadly side effects that seem to take place in some of the youths, ending in their deaths.

Cassie found out about all of this when she snooped through her stepfather's home files. She was concerned enough, especially since Rick keeps mentioning to her mother that she herself should be put on Socom, to do some investigating of her own. When she learns that three former students of her old school in Minor died after being on the drug, she enlists the help of her new classmate, Thatcher Hedrick, and the two devise a plan to bring Rick and his deceptions to light with the aid of a Portland newspaper columnist.

Before they can do that, however, Cassie is kidnapped, with no way of letting Thatcher--or anyone else--know that Rick is behind the plot that's taken her out of the country. Now she's far away from home in Mexico, and although she's making some new contacts and friends there, she's worried about what's happening back in Portland.

SHOCK POINT is a great story, full of action, adventure, and mystery. The plot is very believable, especially in this day and age where drugs seem to be the choice of so many people to cure their ills. As Cassie works from Mexico to bring down Rick and the company that produces Socom, Thatcher works from Portland to rescue Cassie and protect the innocents who are still taking the drug--some without their consent.

A highly recommend thriller for both teens and adults! ( )

"Shock" is a great choice of word for this book - the first chapter opens with fifteen-year-old Cassie getting grabbed and tossed into the back of a van, in front of her house and mother. The truly shocking bit comes in when Cassie discovers that her mother, at the urging of Cassie's new stepfather, has enrolled Cassie in a boot camp for troubled teens, located in Mexico.

Cassie's story is told in chapters alternating between Cassie's life in Peaceful Cove (the boot camp), and the days leading up to her forced enrollment. Cassie discovered that her stepfather was dosing his teenaged psychiatric clients with a dangerous experimental drug, and her discovery led him to send her away.

The boot camp is horrific - physical and psychological abuse abounds, and Cassie realizes she has to try and escape soon, before her mind is so altered by the abuse that she's unable to summon the courage.

This is a great book for reluctant readers - the reading level is lower than usual, but it's very exciting and suspenseful. I was a bit disappointed by its low level, as the ending came a bit abruptly, but overall, it's a fascinating and thrilling read, Cassie's an admirable character, and I expect it'll make for a great discussion!

Recommended. ( )