Chasing the Skip - Hardcover

Patterson, Janci

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0805093915 ISBN 13: 9780805093919

Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (BYR), 2012

Synopsis

Ricki's dad has never been there for her. He's a bounty hunter who spends his time chasing parole evaders―also known as "skips"―all over the country. But now since Ricki's mom ran off, Ricki finds herself an unwilling passenger in a front-row seat to her father's dangerous lifestyle.

Ricki's feelings get even more confused when her dad starts chasing seventeen-year-old Ian Burnham. She finds herself unavoidably attracted to the dark-eyed felon who seems eager to get acquainted. But Ricki thinks she's ever in control―the perfect manipulator. Little does she know that Ian isn't playing their game by her rules.

About this title

About the Author

Janci Patterson received her Master of Arts in creative writing from Brigham Young University. She lives in Orem, Utah with her family. This is her first novel.

Reviews

After Ricki’s irresponsible mother runs off to California, her grandmother contacts the 15-year-old’s father, a virtual stranger. Max, as her bounty-hunter dad is called on the job, tries to parent a resentful and independent daughter while continuing to chase bail jumpers (or “skips”) across Colorado, Wyoming, and Nebraska. In first-person narration, Ricki describes the excitement of Max’s work, along with her rage and confusion at his belated parenting, her worries that her mother may be in trouble with the boyfriend she met online, and the realization that her own boyfriend back in Salt Lake City has dumped her in absentia. Ricki’s voice is consistent and credible as a child-woman who doesn’t recognize her own limits or the dangers others can present, especially when one of the skips turns out to be a manipulative youth who puts Ricki in danger. This debut offers a genuinely felt father-daughter story filled with realistic, flawed, and dimensional characters. Grades 7-10. --Francisca Goldsmith

Edition details

• Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)
• Publication date: 2012
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0805093915
• ISBN 13: 9780805093919
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 240