272 pages
English language
Published Oct. 9, 2007 by Knopf Books for Young Readers.
BY 2035 THE RICH have gotten richer, the poor have gotten poorer, and kidnapping has become a major growth industry in the United States. The children of privilege live in secure, gated communities and are escorted to and from school by armed guards.But the security around Charity Meyers has broken down. On New Year's morning, she wakes and finds herself alone, strapped to a stretcher, in an ambulance that's not moving. She is amazingly calm - kids in her neighborhood have been well trained in kidnapping protocol. If this were a normal kidnapping, Charity would be fine. But as the hours of her imprisonment tick by, Charity realizes there is nothing normal about what's going on here. No training could prepare her for what her kidnappers really want . . . and worse, for who they turn out to be.From the Hardcover edition.
Not too deep for younger readers, this book still manages to depict a future which is both worrying yet with room for hope. Not a title that will stick with me, but interesting for the right audience. I did think the author was female, but the main character is, so perhaps Edward is a good projectionist.
