Title: Not If I Save You First
Author: Ally Carter
Genre: Young Adult, Action, Thriller
Best friends Maddie and Logan are pretty ordinary ten-year-olds, but their lives are anything but: Logan's dad is the President and Maddie's dad is the head of the Secret Service. The kids are inseparable until Maddie's dad is injured while saving the First Lady from a Russian kidnapping attempt. Once healed, he takes Maddie to start a new life in the Alaskan wilderness - no electricity, no plumbing, no schools, no nothing.
Six years later, Maddie's grown as hard as the terrain she's learned to survive in, profoundly lonely since Logan never answered any of her letters. Meanwhile, Logan's gotten into trouble one too many times, so his parents send him to Alaska. As a storm moves in and Maddie's dad leaves to deliver supplies, the two teens are left alone. Within hours, Logan's kidnapped by the same Russians, and Maddie knows she's the only one who can save her former best friend - even though she feels like killing him herself.
Maddie's character makes this book great. She's a true heroine: smart, fearless, and funny, just as effective wielding a hatchet as she is wielding excessive girliness to throw her enemies off guard. Her letters to Logan that begin each chapter will resonate with anyone who's lost a good friend. Certain aspects of the plot require some suspension of disbelief, but it's not hard to do when the story is so delightful. And of course, there's romance - the icing on the cake of this fun, action-packed book.
Six years later, Maddie's grown as hard as the terrain she's learned to survive in, profoundly lonely since Logan never answered any of her letters. Meanwhile, Logan's gotten into trouble one too many times, so his parents send him to Alaska. As a storm moves in and Maddie's dad leaves to deliver supplies, the two teens are left alone. Within hours, Logan's kidnapped by the same Russians, and Maddie knows she's the only one who can save her former best friend - even though she feels like killing him herself.
Maddie's character makes this book great. She's a true heroine: smart, fearless, and funny, just as effective wielding a hatchet as she is wielding excessive girliness to throw her enemies off guard. Her letters to Logan that begin each chapter will resonate with anyone who's lost a good friend. Certain aspects of the plot require some suspension of disbelief, but it's not hard to do when the story is so delightful. And of course, there's romance - the icing on the cake of this fun, action-packed book.
- Rachel K.
