Matt counts the days until he turns 16 and can escape his abusive foster parents.The gold nugget Matt finds in the Yukon River valley could be his ticket to independence-if he can just keep it hidden. For years, brutal Dan Cork and his indifferent, alcoholic wife have fostered boys and worked them hard. One boy disappeared and was never found. (Matt has his suspicions as to why). Forced to do the Corks' housework and more, Matt especially hates being made to trap, shoot, and skin animals for their pelts. When fellow feeling prevents him from killing a beaver with a broken leg that's caught in a trap, Matt frees it instead, pretty sure it will survive. Watching the beaver slide into the river, he spots a baseball-sized chunk of gold. Experience has taught him that if Dan, who keeps close tabs on him, knows Matt has something he wants, he'll take it. Matt doesn't have much time to hide the gold; he's supposed to meet Dan soon. Vicious but clever, Dan has trained Matt to think like a trapped animal: to anticipate what he will do and craft a strategy to defeat him. Now Matt has just moments to carry out a plan. The taut and gripping plot more than compensates for occasionally repetitive syntax. Characters present White by default.From the first sentence, this compact, suspenseful title pulls reluctant readers in and never lets go. (author's note) (Thriller. 12-18)

Gr 7 Up Fifteen-year-old homeschooler Matt does not enjoy trapping beavers in the Yukon backcountry. He spends his days walking the wilderness and loading his backpack with bloody furs to satisfy Dan, his filthy and brutal foster father. When he stumbles on a baseball-sized nugget of gold, Matt starts to fantasize about cashing in and taking off for a new life in Vancouver, away from abusive Dan and his drunken wife, Jill. Matt believes they take in foster kids only for the money; a previous kid disappeared a decade before and was never found. After Matt inquires about the value of a nugget during a visit to nearby Dawson City, he discovers a hidden camera in Dan's trapline cabin and realizes his secret is out. He will have to outsmart Dan and go on the run immediately. A scene where Dan ties Matt up and threatens to torture him with a blowtorch may be too much for sensitive readers, but mostly the action moves briskly, twisting and turning as Dan tries to force Matt to give up his secret. The title is part of a new series from Orca with low reading levels, in this case first to second grade, combined with high-interest plots and text features such as a dyslexia-friendly font, to accommodate readers with disabilities or other literacy challenges. Sentences are short and the vocabulary is not complex. VERDICT An excellent choice to hand to middle and high school reluctant readers, especially where outdoor adventures are popular. Bob Hassett