A teenage boy inadvertently crosses dangerous people in this pulse-pounding thriller.Jake Ballard, a military kid and recent high school graduate, is spending the summer at his uncle's lake house in the resort town of Sicamous, British Columbia, while he figures out his next move. Everyone assumes he'll join the military, but with a soldier father who was killed in action when Jake was 4 and an Army medical technician mother who's currently undergoing treatment for PTSD for combat-related trauma, he isn't sure that's the life he wants. When mysterious redhead Angela Wintar shows up, asking for help with playing a prank on her friends, Jake decides that assisting her would be a good way to take his mind off his troubles. Unfortunately for Jake, Angela's intentions are less innocent than he imagined, and he soon finds himself entangled with the angry criminal associate of a local biker gang who's demanding retribution for what he believes the two teens stole from them. With his family in danger, Jake must find the courage to fight back and fix this fraught situation. Short chapters and thrilling action scenes render this book compulsively readable, while the dialogue is realistic and snappy. Readers will relate to Jake as he wrestles with his family's military history and with the expectations that he'll continue it. Main characters are coded white.A quick, engrossing pick that's ideal for reluctant readers. (Thriller. 12-18)

Gr 8 Up— The newest addition to this well-established hi-lo series is about a young man in over his head. The plot reads like an 1980s action movie: Boy meets girl, girl suggests a scheme. Boy helps girl with scheme, girl makes off with the money. The book is chock full of characters (some of them with colorful names, like Blaine Nepto) and the narrative is packed with plot, though little in the way of thematic depth or introspection. The narrative moves along at a good clip, but the characters never feel as if they're in any real danger. The ending makes a career in the Canadian Navy seem like a lot of fun. VERDICT Worth a look for reluctant readers who like action movies.