ALA Booklist (Sun Jan 01 00:00:00 CST 1995)

Twelve-year-old Lewis thinks he's the luckiest kid around when he's invited to go to Yellowstone with his next door neighbors the Rupes, who eat junk food, don't assign chores, and seem to do exactly what they want. He even gets his twin sister, Alison, invited so that she can take care of the younger Rupes. Yet the irresponsibility and even the junk food gradually lose their appeal as the days pass in the luxurious motor home. Mr. Rupe's ineptness in driving a vehicle this large is downright scary, Mrs. Rupe leaves all the child care to Alison, the entire family appears uninterested in any of the sights along the way, and the motor home seems to be attracting two menacing men who follow them cross-country. Roberts has written a humorous mystery, more humor than mystery. The Rupes are the quintessential ugly Americans--even in America--and in spite of the de rigueur kidnapping of all the children, the thieves are more bumbling oafs than terrorists. Yet humorous fiction for this age, especially for boys, is hard to find. Consider this an investment in circulating slapstick. (Reviewed January 15, 1995)

Horn Book (Fri Apr 01 00:00:00 CST 1994)

The prospect of an exciting summer vacation turns into a nightmare when twelve-year-old Lewis and his twin, Alison, join their irresponsible new neighbors on a trip in a motor home. The somewhat humorous story turns suspenseful when the five children are kidnapped. The kids are heroes, but the adults are incredibly unimpressive.

School Library Journal

Gr 4-7--Twelve-year-old twins Lewis and Alison are invited to join their new neighbors, the five-member Rupe family, on a summertime trip from Washington state to Yellowstone Park in a rented motor home. Though pleased to be going, Lewis realizes that he and Alison (especially Alison) will be responsible for Billy, 4, and Ariadne, 3, as brother Harry, 12, and the wealthy, laissez-fair parents seem oblivious to the needs of the two mischievous youngsters. Lewis often reflects on the orderly comfort of his own home with its wholesome meals and consistent parents, as traveling with the Rupes involves driving mishaps, frayed nerves, missing children, and a surfeit of junk food. Even the fascinating scenery is dimmed by the Rupes boorish behavior, but the real discomfiture surrounds Billy's puzzling discovery of stray $100 bills in the motor home and the sense that they are being tailed by two suspicious-looking men. Danger intensifies when the men seize the vehicle and drive off with the children on board. The kids use clever guerilla tactics to foil the predictably nasty kidnappers and save the day in this high-spirited tale of action and light suspense, reminiscent of Roberts's popular Baby-Sitting Is a Dangerous Job (Atheneum, 1985).--Susan W. Hunter, Riverside Middle School, Sringfield, VT

Kirkus Reviews

Lewis Dodge, almost 12, is invited to go on a camping trip to Yellowstone Park with his new neighbors, the Rupes, and their 12-year-old son, Harry. Lewis's twin sister, Alison, is also asked along to help take care of the Rupes two younger children, Billy and Ariadne. At first the Dodge kids are excited by the prospect of nine days with the Rupes' lax rules—all the junk food and videos they can consume—but they soon realize that the trip will not be ideal. The Rupes are all spoiled; they think money can buy amusement, or atone for rudeness and neglect. (The Rupes don't even know that Billy is seriously nearsighted until Lewis tells them.) As Alison slavishly watches the children, Lewis comes upon a mystery: Two men have been following the Rupes' trailer since it left Washington State. When Billy finds a $100 bill in the trailer, Lewis thinks he knows what's going on. One night, thinking that everyone is out for the evening, the two men come looking for their stash. But instead of finding their money, they find the five children, kidnap them, and head toward the Canadian border. Because of the kids' ingenuity, however, they are foiled before they can leave Montana. The elder Rupes really are terrible, but the Dodge siblings come out of this diverting caper intact. The morals about the evils of lenient parenting aren't subtle, but Roberts (Caught, p. 563, etc.) delivers them well. (Fiction. 8-12)"