The Kidnapping of Christina Lattimore

The actual kidnapping was excellently paced, intense, and immersive. Christina reacted in a relatable way and it was easy to empathize with her. That, unfortunately, is the only part I found to be well-placed and immersive.

None of the characters are particularly likeable or relatable. Christina comes across as a vain, spoiled, poor-me-an-all-my-first-world-problems teenager who defensively lashes out at little to no provocation. Early in the book, it is hinted that her behavior might be due to her feeling like she is living in the shadows of her grandmother, the matriarch of the family, which she is partially named after, and that she is struggling to find her place in a family with high expectations, however, that is such a throwaway show more afterthought that rather than adding depth to her character, which I believe was the idea, it comes across as an excuse for Christina to act like an obnoxious brat.

She is quick to shrug off obvious signs that someone has been in her room, and though she initially resists the kidnappers, she is quick to comply without question even though they aren’t particularly threatening. Complying with a kidnapper’s command out of fear for one’s life I can understand, but Christina needed no such encouragement. When they told her to freshen up (with her own toiletries no less) she was slightly puzzled but was quick to shrug it off and comply without a sense of forewarning. As kidnappers aren’t exactly known to pamper their victims out of the goodness of their heart, all sorts of alarm bells should go off in the victim’s head however, for Christina, that was disappointingly wanting. When the plot twist came, I could but feel she deserved to fall victim of such a scheme.

Once the investigation part kicks off, the story somewhat improves, and Christina has a character development that makes her, at times, borderline likeable but sadly it all comes to an unsatisfactory conclusion. Addendum: I read this book in my early teens. show less

It's a YA book so I'm not going to be too critical of it. The premise of the book seemed interesting enough and it sounded suspenseful...and it was to a lesser extent than I had thought. I could figure it out long before it happened. The ending was a little disappointing and Christina more or less shrugged the entire event off. It's not a bad book at all. This author has written 130 YA books and is the only 4 time winner of the Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Young Adult Mystery. I believe the main problem was I'm not 15 years old.

I was surprisingly impressed with this one. I don't usually read books like this, but I thought "why not?" I never expected the twist in the middle of the book. It seemed very well thought out. I would definitely reccommend this book to teenage girls looking for a little bit of a thriller, especially if they're new to this type of book. Christina's thoughts and feelings were very well-related to the reader. She wasn't too brave or too scared. Christina was realistically put together, and it certainly helped that she seemed to have a sharp mind. I enjoyed this book, and it was a very quick read for me.

Christina begs her family to let her travel to Europe with her junior class. Shortly after her request is denied she is kidnapped by someone she recognizes and overhears her kidnappers devise an elaborate plan to divide the ransom. Once she is released she uses her wits to convince her family that she is not the mastermind and find the real villain. The Kidnapping of Christina Lattimore is a suspenseful read to get reluctant readers hooked into a good mystery.

The Kidnapping of Christina Lattimore is a pretty good book but it got boring at some parts. Unlike some other books its not as visual as i thought it would be.

Pretty good book with lots of twists and turns

It was predictable.