Snared

by Stefan Petrucha and Thomas Pendleton

16-year-old Lindsay is disgusted at the prospect of a beach trip with her parents, but her vacation gets interesting - and dangerous - when she meets Mark, the boy next door. But his menacing... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0061138517
• ISBN13: 9780061138515
• Release Date: February 2008
• Publisher: Harper Teen
• Length: 217 Pages
• Weight: 0.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.4" x 8.0"
• Age Range: 12 to 17 years
• Grade Range: Grades 7 to 12

Customer Reviews

Eerie tale with a grown-up edge

The scene opens on four girls playing some unexplained game in the decaying ruins of an abandoned orphanage. They roll to see who takes the next turn. Then, as kids do everywhere, one begins her spooky tale. Teenaged Lindsay is practically kidnapped by her parents, forced to join the annual family vacation the weekend of that really important party. In part, Lindsay just knows that it can't be a success without her. In part, she worries that she can't be a success without it, too, since being seen cool places with cool people matters so much in her high-school world, and since that promises to be so very cool. It's not a total loss, though. There's a really cute boy next door, apparently grounded for life. His guardians (two fathers? Lindsay can't wait to tell her friends that part) never let him out of the house. Lindsay gets to know him, though talking through the window and even climbing in to visit. There's something strange about those guardians, though, and some ominous kind of countdown seems to be happening. The guardians become even more vigilant after a local boy is killed, and after the nervous breakdown of a local girl that Lindsay has met. Lindsay takes on the mission of saving that boy from whatever it is that's going on in that strange household. Free him she does - and then the story takes a dramatic turn. Nothing, it turns out, was what she believed or could have believed. Especially not what she saved, or how ... The four storytelling girls get this book off to a deliciously mysterious start. After that, I found the story lagging for a while. It ends in satisfying drama, and with mysteries that, when solved, reveal even bigger and more horrifying mysteries. I just didn't see the suspenseful buildup that would have made this a memorable story. The authors aim at a teenage audience, and seem to hit it well. A bit too well, perhaps. Some parents might not want younger teens, especially, to think things like underage drinking, unauthorized house parties, or breaches of abstinence are OK, even if they're real in many teenagers' lives. The storytelling girls, however, have a story of their own, one that appears only in tantalizing hints and that leaves the reader eager for more. It's not for every teenager (or every parent of one), but many will enjoy its sympathetic tone and chilling finale. -- wiredweird, reviewing a complimentary copy

Courtesy of Teens Read Too

Who says you have to wait until October to get your scare on? The four storytelling girls of Lockwood Orphanage are back for another night of bone-rolling and spine-tingling tales in the second book of the WICKED DEAD series, SNARED. SNARED follows the adventures of sixteen-year-old Lindsay as she's dragged on a family vacation to Redlands Beach by her parents. It's there she meets the mysterious hottie next door named Mark and his ultra-strict "guardians," Doug and Jack. Mesmerized by his good looks and horrified by his prison-like living conditions, Lindsay vows to help Mark escape. Someone forgot to tell her, no good deed goes unpunished... SNARED is exactly the kind of book I would have read as a teen. It's a great, one-sitting, light-gore horror novel that serves one purpose: entertainment. Anyone looking for greater truths or deeper meaning should probably skip this one, but if you want a night of "campfire" horror fare, this is a must-read. Reviewed by: Cat