Taken

Just a few pages into McClintock's (Dooley Takes the Fall) fast-moving thriller, teenage narrator Stephanie becomes the third girl in two months to be abducted near her rural town, as she crosses through a vacant field. Awakening in a deserted cabin, Stephanie is both terrified and level-headed, managing to free herself and venture into the forest ("They say that when you're lost in the woods and don't know where you are, the smartest thing you can do is to stay put.... But staying put wouldn't help me"). Luckily, Stephanie has a wealth of survivalist information at the ready%E2%80%94her "hermit" grandfather taught her everything from "how to use the sun as a compass" to how to find food (such as grubs and the inner bark of birch trees). While Stephanie's preexisting wilderness knowledge feels convenient, it doesn't detract from her emotional turmoil nor does it guarantee an easy escape. McClintock's dialogue feels genuine, though readers spend the majority of the novel in Stephanie's head, as she uses clear thinking and a substantial reserve of inner strength to find her way home. Ages 12%E2%80%94up. (Oct.)