The Abduction (Kidnapped, Book 1)

I downloaded this audio despite the off-putting title--I don't generally like creepy hostage things, but I ended up liking it. It's only about 2 1/2 hours, and the kidnapped girl is like a young MacGyver (resourceful). It's the first of a three part series--kind of. It actually frequently references an earlier series--so you'd really want to read that one first; that one is a 6 part series called, "On the Run".

The Abduction is the first book within Gordon Korman’s Kidnapped trilogy. A spin-off from the On the Run series, Aiden and his younger sister Meg return in this fast paced adventure. Already struggling to find normalcy after a wrongful and reversed sentence of aiding foreign terrorists, the Falconer family encounters another difficulty. Eleven year-old Meg is kidnapped walking home from school with her brother. Aiden the only witness of the incident finds himself helping the FBI to try and get his sister back. Korman writes about anyone’s worst nightmare of being abducted already gaining the attention of readers. The angles of the story frequently shift from what’s going on with Meg, to Aiden or the police officer adding to the show more suspense. Although some of events seem cliché, the scenes from this book could come straight out of a movie. The end of this novel, slides right into the next book- leaving the reader wanting to know what happens next (which would require one to read the next book). The themes or surivial, determination and family are evident. Younger readers, who like action and suspense, will find entertainment in The Abduction.

Age Appropriate: 5th grade to 8th grade show less

After 6 years of trying, I've found that Christopher Pike just can't captivate or even hold for a minute any of my kids, so I have to move on to more modern books, I suppose. It's just so hard to get into cheap thrillers anymore, but this one worked for me.
This is the first Korman I've read, and now I think I'll try some of his other books that creep out of every crevice in my classroom. I keep getting these titles as bonus-point picks from Scholastic, and their enticing covers just don't entice my population of 7th & 8th graders, but I've also found that my kids don't ever seem to get into books that I haven't raved about first.
I read it in about 2 hours (I'm a slow reader, and it was adequately suspenseful. Now, I have to see if it show more works with the kids. show less

You can read this series after the preceding series or on its own. It's rather interesting, but the kids are a bit too precocious for my taste.

Two kids live alone because their parents are in jail. Their teachers and principal don't like them and don't trust them because of their parents. I'm on chapter two and I want to keep reading because I want to get to the part where the girl gets kidnapped. I predict she'll get rescued, but I want to find out how!

-Heiri A (May, 2010)

Meg and Aiden’s parents were wrongfully accused of aiding foreign terrorists. Now, they are back to living their normal lives. While their parents were exonerated, everyone in a town that believes they are still guilty. Meg and Aiden are teased, ridiculed and tormented everyday in school. While Meg was coming home from school one day, she gets kidnapped by masked robbers. Will she come back alive?

This book is recommended for 4th and 5th graders who love fast-paced mystery and suspense. This title is part of a three-part series by the prolific teen author, Gordon Korman. You cannot read the first book without the other ones.

The book kidnapped was a amazing book . I liked the part when adian went looking for meg . when adian came incontacet with the kidnappers Igot scared . I liked the part where the kidnapper was flying airplans and was being nice to meg. But I did not like the part when they aer mean to meg.