Hostage Three

Lake, Nick. Hostage Three. Bloomsbury USA Children's, 2013. 

Amy's father and stepmother drag her onto her father's yacht for a summer trip.  Then the yacht is overtaken by Somali pirates off the coast of Africa and Amy is renamed Hostage Three. The pirates only want money, but the deadline is drawing near, and they're getting impatient.  How will Amy and her family survive?

This was actually a fairly interesting story, if it weren't for the insta-love between Amy and one of the pirates. I'm not sure if she was suffering from Stockholm Syndrome or what the deal was, but that part of the story seemed a bit ridiculous to me.  I enjoyed the rest of the story, though, including the increasing tensions between the hostages, who just want to be released, and the pirates, who want/need money. I can definitely see this book being popular in my library, and it would be easy to booktalk even to my reluctant readers.

Recommended for: teens, tweens

Red Flags: language, minor violence, Amy is almost raped at one point

Overall Rating: 4/5 stars