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Running Scared
Don't look back...Someone might be gaining on you
Summer vacations are supposed to be fun. As far as Caroline was concerned, four days at her grandmother's country home baby-sitting her cousin "The Brat" Jasper were going to be nothing but trouble. But even Caroline's wildest dreams couldn't prepare her for the nightmare that began when she and Jasper boarded the bus to Gram's.
The ride began innocently enough. Jasper was into his comic books, and Caroline was into getting to know this real cute guy named David...until she spotted what looked like a birthday present. But what was inside the brightly wrapped package was meant for somebody else...and it had nothing to do with birthdays. Suddenly, all three kids were on the road to the most terrifying experience of their lives...
Summer vacations are supposed to be fun. As far as Caroline was concerned, four days at her grandmother's country home baby-sitting her cousin "The Brat" Jasper were going to be nothing but trouble. But even Caroline's wildest dreams couldn't prepare her for the nightmare that began when she and Jasper boarded the bus to Gram's.
The ride began innocently enough. Jasper was into his comic books, and Caroline was into getting to know this real cute guy named David...until she spotted what looked like a birthday present. But what was inside the brightly wrapped package was meant for somebody else...and it had nothing to do with birthdays. Suddenly, all three kids were on the road to the most terrifying experience of their lives...
- GenresYoung Adult
176 pages, Paperback
First published August 28, 1987
7 people want to read
About the author
Jean Thesman
42 books48 followersJean Thesman was a widely read and award-winning American author known for her young adult fiction, with a career spanning over 25 years. Her novels often explored themes of family, identity, and belonging, frequently featuring heroines who find their place in the world by uncovering truths about their families and forming chosen connections. “I loved telling the story,” she once wrote, “because I really believed that families were made up of the people you wanted, not the people you were stuck with.”
Born with a passion for storytelling and literacy, she learned to read before starting school and recalled having to wait until she was six years old before being allowed her first library card. Throughout her career, she authored around 40 books, most under her own name but a few under the pseudonym T.J. Bradstreet.
Thesman published a wide range of novels for teens and middle-grade readers, including stand-alone works such as The Rain Catchers, Calling the Swan, and Cattail Moon, as well as series like The Whitney Cousins, The Birthday Girls, and The Elliott Cousins. Her lyrical style, emotional depth, and strong female characters earned her a loyal readership. Notable works like The Ornament Tree and In the House of the Queen’s Beasts remain particularly admired for their nuanced storytelling and emotional resonance.
She was a longtime resident of Washington state and an active member of The Authors Guild and the Society for Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. Jean Thesman passed away in 2016 at the age of 86, leaving behind a significant legacy in young adult literature.
Born with a passion for storytelling and literacy, she learned to read before starting school and recalled having to wait until she was six years old before being allowed her first library card. Throughout her career, she authored around 40 books, most under her own name but a few under the pseudonym T.J. Bradstreet.
Thesman published a wide range of novels for teens and middle-grade readers, including stand-alone works such as The Rain Catchers, Calling the Swan, and Cattail Moon, as well as series like The Whitney Cousins, The Birthday Girls, and The Elliott Cousins. Her lyrical style, emotional depth, and strong female characters earned her a loyal readership. Notable works like The Ornament Tree and In the House of the Queen’s Beasts remain particularly admired for their nuanced storytelling and emotional resonance.
She was a longtime resident of Washington state and an active member of The Authors Guild and the Society for Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. Jean Thesman passed away in 2016 at the age of 86, leaving behind a significant legacy in young adult literature.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
April 4, 2024
A new Jean Thesman stan here! 🙋🏻♀️
I read this one after reading "Appointment With a Stranger" which I adored 🥺👻
No ghosts in this one, but it most definitely ranks in the high stakes THRILLER category.
Our protag Caroline has to go with her bratty ass 10 yr old cousin Jasper to grandma's in another town. But at the train station, a girl the brat recognizes leaves a wrapped gift behind at the gift store…so they pick it up to try to return to her. Welp there’s something inside that the Very Bad Guys definitely want back and now these woods-dwelling psychos are after them 😱
Caroline meets a cute boy in grandma's town and the Very Bad Guys have shot him 😭 (I won't count this as a spoiler as he is wounded on the cover LOL) There are gnarly descriptions of his gunshot wound, gross 🤢It's a fun, fast-paced read and it kinda reminded me of the newest season of Fargo...kidnapping, violence, crazed militia men and a cunning and creative protagonist who will do whatever it takes to escape.
Meanwhile if any of this were to happen to me I'd probably need extensive therapy for the rest of my life but this was 1987, when teens were a lot more heartier I suppose 😆
4 Stars!
I read this one after reading "Appointment With a Stranger" which I adored 🥺👻
No ghosts in this one, but it most definitely ranks in the high stakes THRILLER category.
Our protag Caroline has to go with her bratty ass 10 yr old cousin Jasper to grandma's in another town. But at the train station, a girl the brat recognizes leaves a wrapped gift behind at the gift store…so they pick it up to try to return to her. Welp there’s something inside that the Very Bad Guys definitely want back and now these woods-dwelling psychos are after them 😱
Caroline meets a cute boy in grandma's town and the Very Bad Guys have shot him 😭 (I won't count this as a spoiler as he is wounded on the cover LOL) There are gnarly descriptions of his gunshot wound, gross 🤢It's a fun, fast-paced read and it kinda reminded me of the newest season of Fargo...kidnapping, violence, crazed militia men and a cunning and creative protagonist who will do whatever it takes to escape.
Meanwhile if any of this were to happen to me I'd probably need extensive therapy for the rest of my life but this was 1987, when teens were a lot more heartier I suppose 😆
4 Stars!
January 29, 2025
Great book, well written young adult book. Fast paced
July 12, 2023
I have absolutely no idea why I read this, but the characters were surprisingly funny and strong willed for an 80s paperback!
The plot left a lot to be desired, lots of running around and back and forth. I was expecting this to be more of a teens get stuck on the way somewhere/followed kind of book, which it sadly wasn’t.
The plot left a lot to be desired, lots of running around and back and forth. I was expecting this to be more of a teens get stuck on the way somewhere/followed kind of book, which it sadly wasn’t.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews