My Sister's Stalker

by Nancy Springer

When 15-year-old Rig, a loner, discovers that his popular older sister is being stalked while away at college, he sets out to save her, with unexpected help from his divorced parents.

Genres: Mystery, Thriller, Young Adult, Teen, Suspense

93 pages, Hardcover

First published February 20, 2012

About the author

BIO -- NANCY SPRINGER


Nancy Springer has passed the fifty-book milestone, having written that many novels for adults, young adults and children, in genres including mythic fantasy, contemporary fiction, magical realism, horror, and mystery -- although she did not realize she wrote mystery until she won the Edgar Allan Poe Award from the Mystery Writers of America two years in succession. DARK LIE, recently released from NAL, is her first venture into mass-market psychological suspense.
Born in Montclair, New Jersey, Nancy Springer moved with her family to Gettysburg, of Civil War fame, when she was thirteen. She spent the next forty-six years in Pennsylvania, raising two children (Jonathan, now 38, and Nora, 34), writing, horseback riding, fishing, and birdwatching. In 2007 she surprised her friends and herself by moving with her second husband to an isolated area of the Florida panhandle, where the birdwatching is spectacular and where, when fishing, she occasionally catches an alligator.

Reviews

[Sarah · Rating 1 out of 5]

Rig really misses his sister Karma, who's too busy with her new life away at college to stay in contact with him. One day, he's Googling Karma and finds a website full of pictures of her...Pictures that look like they were taken without her knowledge. Is someone stalking his sister?

The copy of this I read was a review copy from the publisher, and it really made me wonder how much editing goes on between ARC and finished book. The plot was far-fetched, but it could have worked if the writing wasn't such a mess. Every page was littered with sentence fragments, inconsistent tenses, accidental Canadianisms, mixed metaphors, and incorrectly used words. There were continuity errors, logic lapses, ridiculous characters - the mother was supposed to be a hippie who saw the best in everyone, but instead, she came off as either developmentally disabled or on heavy-duty sedatives - and really creepy incest vibes (would a brother really regularly google his sister and refer to her as "drop-dead gorgeous?" And would a father really say 'well, son, it's okay you've been thinking of your sister sexually - you're a hero anyway!'?) The author has won awards for her previous books, so I'm not sure why this one was such a disaster.

With a lot of revision, this could be a suspenseful hi/lo mystery, but based on the review copy, I won't be purchasing it for our collection.

[KJ · Rating 2 out of 5]

The plot was predictable, the dialog didn't ring true, and the characters were one-sided, BUT... I liked how this post-divorce family supported one another in a crisis, AND... at an action-packed 93 pages, this book might be just right for readers looking for something quick and easy.

[Keagan Hastings · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love how the brother was trying to find out who took his sister away.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a quick read. I'd peg it as a hi-lo YA mystery/thriller, and it hooked me from the start, as it probably would for many teen readers.

I can't write much without giving away spoilers. Rig is concerned because he discovered his sister is being stalked, and he takes initiative over and over to do everything he needs to try to save her. He's smart, he's resilient, and sometimes a little too headstrong for his own good, rushing into situations without thinking them through. In spite of that, he is truly a hero.

I would recommend this to reluctant readers, to teens reading at a lower level than their peers, and anyone who would have interest in it.

[Catherine · Rating 1 out of 5]

Terrible! Edgar award winner? The sentence structure alone is a nightmare! I'm only on page 6 if that tells you anything.

*it's website not Web Site. Voicemail not voice mail.

I could not finish this-- I could not get past the errors... too distracting.. kudos to those who could!

[Katsumi · Rating 1 out of 5]

To read the original review and others, go to: http://www.myteenreads.blogspot.com

Rig is just living a typical teenage life. His parents are divorced and he lives with his eccentric mother. His sister Kari, short for Karma, lived with their dad before she went off to college. Rig misses his sister and after numerous calls and texts, he Googles her. He comes across a fan site for her featuring some creepy pictures that seem to have been taken through her bedroom window. He seeks help from his mother, but she is always willing to believe the best in people and thinks that it’s cute. Therefore, Rig is forced to seek out his dad, whom he has a difficult relationship with. Rig’s family has to get to the bottom of the stalker issue before Kari gets into real danger.

I read this book because it was less than 100 pages, and sounded somewhat decent. Well, I was wrong . This was the worst book that I’ve read in a LONG time. And I read a lot of books. The writing is choppy and juvenile, which I can forgive because a 15 is supposed to be narrating the story. The basic idea of this novel is interesting, but I think it could have been better told. The plot was basically like “Bam! Bam! Bam!” with one bullet being thrown after another. It was unrealistic, though I know these things do happen, and had be rolling me eyes the entire time. As you can see though, it wasn’t so completely horrible that I finished it. There was no character development and some very unbelievable events.

But the ending. OMG. It was really stupid. That’s the only way that I can put it. If the author had chosen a different ending, I would have been like **sigh** what a waste of my time. But now I am angry! LOL. So I will tell you about the ending and not worry about spoiling it for you because I hope you spend your time reading a better novel. Basically, Rig is like “I feel creepy because I had to think like the stalker would” and his dad is like “ohh, that’s called incest. But it’s okay!” And you’re like “that was a completely stupid little paragraph to put in there”. Argh! Just frustrating! Anyways. Don’t read this book. 1 out of 5 stars.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Shouldn't Everyone Have Their Privacy?: A Book Review on

It's not a joke when it happens to you or a family member. Some people, like Rig's mom, think it's cute when you find a internet page full of photos of your sister. Then there are others, like Rig's father, who thinks its not and it's a serious crime even though it's not perverted shots or threats.

Rig misses his older sister, Karma, who's in college. Karma was a popular girl, the school president of her high school, the homecoming queen, the one everyone adores and look up too, the sister that Rig loves so much, the girl who is so busy with studies, and she is the girl... who gets stalked. Rig's parents is divorced so, he moves out to with his mom in the city. His sister, Karma, stays in Sumac with their father to finish school. In Rig's sophomore year, which is also Karma's sophomore year in college, Rig finds a website full of photos, all of Karma. It was like a site dedicated to her, worshiping her, like a goddess.

I think this stalker is a sicko. If you worship her, tell her. Hiding behind a screen, not saying a word, is not gonna help your sorry buttocks. Although he sickens me, I found Rig's courage was very fascinating. He was stabbed, taken down, hospitalized, he still didn't stop searching for the stalker,who went to far and kidnapped his beloved sister. I mean, he is like half dying, yet he wanted his hands on him as fast as possible, make him suffer for taking her away, for even trying to kill her. He wanted him to die, for causing this in Karma's life. This is a brother I want.

I would recommend this book to people who love crime stories and especially to those in college. It's a short story, but it has something everyone should know. Even if that person seem like a dumb nerd, who just cares about study, you can be wrong. He/ She can turn out into someone totally different.

Beware. You never know what can be underneath that mask they are wearing or what is going around in the internet.

[Sylvia McIvers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stalkers creep me out, but I have read many other books by Nancy Springer, so I figured this would be handled well. In fact, it was a much better book than I expected.

The book opens with a teen boy insisting that he’s not a hero. His dad is a workaholic who thinks Rig is a slacker, his mom is kind of ditzy (but it works for her) who things Rig is wonderful, and his sister was his good friend before she went to college. So he Google’s his sister. Honors, gorgeous pictures, blah blah sis-is-fab, and a whole web page devoted to photos of her.

Rig is creeped out by this page, and shows it to his mom. She thinks its adorable. He thinks it’s horrible, but doesn’t do anything because maybe he’s just imagining things? He’s a teen boy, after all, and obsessed with s-e-x, according to all statistics. But there are more pictures the next day, and then there are pictures taken through her bedroom window.

Scary.

Scary enough for Rig to get on the wrong bus in the morning, skip school, and head for his dad’s office. Dad takes charge in his workaholic-I-know-everything way, but Rig still feels he has something to contribute. In fact, he finds details that his father misses, which may or may not be useful when they talk to the police.

Sis is horrified when she finds out that someone is stalking her. Rig is determined to protect her, but it turns out to be more dangerous than he thought… Dad is annoyed at his slacker kid, but by the end of the book, all four people in the family have a new view of each other.

My Sister’s Stalker is a short book – but it packs a big punch. It’s a story with all non-essentials cut away, leaving an intense experience. It leaves me wanting to check out Nancy Springers previous books to see if I missed anything good.

[Sherri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fifteen-year-old Rig (officially Ringgold) has drifted apart from his older sister since their parents’ divorce. Keri (officially Karma) attends college far away, out West so they don’t talk too frequently. Yet when Rig doesn’t hear back after leaving her two messages within a week, he starts to worry and Googles her name. Rig finds a website full of candid pictures of his sister Keri. Many of the photos look like Keri wasn’t aware they were being taken. Rig starts to get a creepy feeling and shares his concerns with mom who passes if off as a romantic secret admirer. Unsure of who to turn to, Rig skips school and catches a bus to his dad’s office. Unlike mom, dad springs into action and they fly off to Keri’s college.

Finally, Keri answers her phone and the three have a joyful reunion. Despite the creepy website, the campus police refuse to take any action since no crime has been committed. After a When the stalker’s intentions turn dangerous, Rig quickly realizes he’ll have to take action on his own to save his sister’s life.

Unfortunately, this interesting premise was not fully fleshed out, probably due to the short length. Too many easy coincidences occur, but reluctant readers will like the fast pace without noticing the lack of depth. Teen boys will enjoy a male narrator who suffers from a poor self image as he struggles through a rocky relationship with his father.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

After their parents' divorce, Rig and his popular sister Karma have drifted apart. He lives with his mother, and Karma is at college. While trying to get in touch with her one day, he happens to find a website dedicated to her. Although their mother thinks the site is a romantic gesture, there's something about it that bothers Rig, who shares his concerns with his father. Not a moment too soon, they fly to Karma's college campus and try to catch the stalker, whose photos are becoming more intimate, and seem to show his physical proximity to Karma. Rig takes matters into his own hands after she is kidnapped, and he and his mother drive throughout the winding hills following the only clue they have--the smell of wood smoke Rig remembers from his brief encounter with the stalker beneath his sister's window. The action is fast-paced, and readers will be quickly sucked into the storyline despite some of the scenes that strain the story's credibility. How quickly the stalker moves from love to hate! I would have enjoyed reading parts of the story from his eyes or even from Karma's perspective. Seeing Rig come into his own as he asserts himself around both parents was pleasing, of course, but there's also a creepiness factor on his part when he admits that he also found Karma attractive as the result of the photos posted on the Web.

[Ron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hey get away from my window you creep and never come back because if you do I have something coming for you, few days before that day. I'm getting tired i'm going to go to bed good night love you mom love you dad, love you to honey. screaming, what happen what is, it somebody was at my window looking "I see a shoe but that's all and it's a Nike shoe just try to close your blinds next time ok know get some rest. next morning. Umm honey do you think i should buy some cameras to put up around the house, umm no it will be ok, mom i think i should trap that stalker we should like call the cops, umm when he comes back then we are going to do something when he or she comes back. The next 2 weeks. Mom I haven't seen the stalker yet but i'm going to catch him but he haven been back. that night. I put pillows under my cover to make it seem like i was under their but i was up all night waiting and waiting tell i herd someone at the window but i already called the cops so when the he come the cops will already be here so I ran out the back door and creeped on to the side of the house and foot ball tackled him and he fell and we were rolling and then he punched me and lights out when I woke up people where all around me and and the cops where out their I was dazed when i woke up but then I told my mom I told you so and we went in to the house and went to sleep peacefully.

[Griselda Garcia · Rating 4 out of 5]

My sisters stalker to me was a very good book. I really loved the details it had on it about Karma Rigs sister and described how beautiful Rig thinks his sister is.The book really described alot about Rigs sister karma as shes off to college he suspects someones obviously stalking her due to the fact that he misses his sister so much that he decided to look up pictures of his sister and ran into a website full of his sisters pictures i guess that really got Rig started and were all this conflict started. I highly recommend this book to anyone into the mystery type books trust me the books pretty shocking and it will defiantly leave you speechless.There is a few times you wish the subject would of gone on with more details on it but in the end it explained everything really good and well descriptive in every category it explained and talked about. I remember reading this book and literately actually picturing the whole story and characters in my head there are times that i laughed,i was shocked ,there are times i didn't expect what happened to happen but in the end it was a very amazing thing to experience to picture everything on how it was described in the book.

[Nshslibrary · Rating 3 out of 5]

In My Sister’s Stalker by Nancy Springer, 16 year-old Rig finds out his sister is being stalked. Karma is in college and Rig lives with his artsy mom who lives in her own world and rarely understands reality. In his free time, Rig looked his sister up on Google and came across a rather creepy shrine-like website dedicated to his sister. His spacey mother didn’t find pictures of Karma out and about, and in her room creepy at all. As a last resort, Rig secretly contacts his strong-headed, rude, overpowering father who he basically hates. Together they go all out to track down Karma’s stalker and keep her safe from whoever is getting creepier by the day. Rig grows up by taking more risks to attempt to save his sister from the angry and creepy stalker. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a fast but good read. The reader should enjoy action, mystery, and can handle a little gruesome details. It is definitely not horror. I would recommend it to anyone over age 12 and either gender. As a 15 year-old girl, I liked it but found it too easy. Nobody under 12 who gets scared extremely easily should read it.~ Student: Gavrielle A.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rig's sister now lives away from home but Rig tries to stay in touch despite their busy schedules. Then he goes on the internet and puts in Karma's name and comes to a creepy site with all these photos of his sister in the privacy of her own place. Rig gets worried and tells his mom who thinks nothing of it. Still worrying, he turns to his father. When his father sees the site, he feels something might be wrong too. Finally father and son decide to reunite for the sole purpose of hunting down the person who is doing the postings. They both feel that this person is stalking Karma. The authorities did not respond quick enough so family had to get involved as the postings were getting more voyeuristic and the person was ranting about Karma on the site. They go to the campus and prepare to watch the dorm until they catch the stalker. It felt strange to be watching Karma but there was no other way they could think of but to catch this person in the act.

The book is a very quick read but also has plenty of action to keep even a reluctant reader involved in the story.

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a total page-turner that I couldn't put down, but it has a few flaws. Due to its very short length, some of the development was rushed, and a couple of the scenes suffered as a result, including part of the climax.
Still, the idea of stumbling across someone stalking your own sister was an interesting one, and the way that Nancy Springer used the odd family dynamic to create a rush response to the situation worked well. I think that teens who want a quick read will find this to be interesting, even if not everything is perfectly fleshed out. It would also make a pretty good movie, and may attract teens who normally watch their thrillers rather than read them.
The author used a lot of cool visual imagery throughout the story, one of its strongest points, and three of the four family members had very interesting personalities. Oddly, it is the sister who is the least well-developed, because of the circumstances of the story.

[Sarah · Rating 1 out of 5]

This thriller was a bit of a disappointment. I was hoping this book would be a good choice for reluctant readers or teens who have to read a mystery due to its short length and subject matter, but the novel has too many problems to be one that I could recommend. Because of the book’s length, everything moves at break-neck speed. The entire novel takes place in less than 48-hours, but so much happens that it is not in any way believable. Rig seems to always be one step ahead of the stalker and the police (who don’t believe him) because he is able to identify in some way with the stalker and his feelings of being an outsider. I thought this idea was an interesting one, but it wasn’t well developed and made the plot developments seem a bit too convenient instead. Springer is an award-winning mystery writer, and with a bit more plot and character development involved, this could have been a really creepy thriller, but instead it just falls flat.

[Natalie · Rating 1 out of 5]

The unedited book is how I would describe my reading experience during this book. I picked it up from my library a few years ago for a quick read, and it took me longer than it would take to read a 500 page book.

I didn't understand the purpose for this book. It was supposed to be about a girl whose sister has a stalker, but between the misspelled words, poor grammar, and the worst part, the characters names changing in the middle of the book, I could barely finish it.

Overall, I get what the author was trying to do, but it was overshadowed by the mistakes.

How do you handle reading a poorly edited book? Drop your answers or a pink heart in the comments below, or on any of my social medias.

Love, peace, and dope reading!
-NJ

[Belinda Reyes]

This book is a mindblowing ,twisting and exciting novel .The story revolvs around Rigg , his parents are divourced and he lives with his mother while his older sister Kari lives with their father.After his sister heads off to college miles away ,he looses contact with her. One day he decides to look her up on the internet ,and finds the strangest thing ,a shrine dedicated to her. As she already does not return his calls, he gets worried because she lives in a sorrority mansion. He believes she is in danger , that she has a stalker . Its up to him to figure out who this stalker of hers is before he makes a drastic move , can he do it?

[Leslie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitely a fast-paced thriller, and it certainly accomplished what it set out to do... but... I don't know, I guess I was in the mood for more of a traditional mystery, so this didn't quite satisfy. It's like eating a hamburger when you're actually craving pizza. There was nothing wrong with it, it just wasn't the novel I was hoping for this week. In its favor I must admit that it's a high-interest story,it could easily be a "girl" or a "boy" book, and it is a thin volume likely to attract (or at least not scare off) reluctant readers.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This page-turner is a quick, action-packed, interesting read. Looking for a book with suspense and mystery while dealing with a post-divorce family crisis? This is the book for you! This is the story of Rig who discovers that his older sister has a stalker and he must stop the stalker before he goes too far. It is also the story of how distant a family can grow apart after a divorce, but quickly they learn how much they need each other when one of them is in danger.

[Lavabearian (Jessica) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Easy read, quick paced and something that students who don't like to read will pick up because of the mystery story line and how the characters are from a broken home. This is a yes for the list. The uniqueness of the mom and dad and how the brother and sister take after one or the other and that determines where they live, a lot of readers can relate to.

[Kristin Staaland · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. It was short, sort of like sitting down for an episode of CSI or a tv crime drama. About a hundred pages, exciting from the start, plausible enough to enjoy and relate to--not so creepy that I wanted to lock all my doors.

[Megan Bates · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was an extremely quick read (it took about an hour and a half to get through) and while the story was good, I didn't feel emotionally attached to the characters. Reading this was a bit like watching an episode of a TV show that I'm not really into.

[Allison Blissett-White · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a fairly good storyline, allbeit predictable. It is interesting to see the character struggle with his inner teenage boy, even though it brings the story to a bit of a let-down at the end.

[Kyron · Rating 5 out of 5]

good

[Elzbeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

When Rig discovers that his sister is being stalked, he runs away from his home with his mom to enlist the help of his dad. Can Rig and his dad find the stalker before the stalker finds Rig's sister?

[Madeline Bromley · Rating 2 out of 5]

The idea was a really good one! But the book itself was written like a high school essay.

[Quenten · Rating 5 out of 5]

amazing :-)

[Jennifer Brothers · Rating 3 out of 5]

First time in a long time I've read a book in one day but when its only 93 pages...decent teen book...entertaining

[Maggie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good quick read for reluctant readers. The main character is a male, so the book would be good for boys.