The Kidnapping of Suzie Q.

by Martin Waddell, Catherine Sefton (Pseudonym), Richard Jones (Illustrator)

When Suzie Quinn finds herself taken hostage by three desperate, confused men who have robbed the supermarket where she and her mother are shopping, Suzie must remain calm and use her wits and hidden courage to find a way to get out of the situation safely.

Genres: Realistic Fiction, Young Adult

176 pages, Hardcover

First published February 1, 1996

About the author

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_W...

Also writes under the pen name Catherine Sefton

Martin Waddell is the author of more than one hundred books for young readers.

Awards: Hans Christian Andersen Award for Writing (2004).

Reviews

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was quite an interesting take on a kidnapping story. It's first-person narration told in flashback, which allows for Suzie, upon being kidnapped to be able to tell what else is going on with her family and the police despite the fact that she wasn't there at the time.

It's also unusual in that the kidnap victim is smarter and more capable than her kidnappers. Normally that would imply a "smart kid, dumb villains" scenario, but this is not a silly kid book; this is young adult drama. What's more, Suzie's intelligence may be her biggest asset, but ironically, her kidnappers' inexperience is the biggest threat. They did not intend to take Suzie hostage, and have no idea what to do with her, and they start getting desperate.

Suzie Quinn is taken hostage after being at the wrong place at the wrong time, during a botched robbery attempt. She was intended only to be a temporary hostage, to be used to threaten people into not attacking the robbers. Things went wrong, and the robbers ultimately took her hostage. That proved to be their big mistake.

Once at the kidnappers' hideout, Suzie is kept locked up, but mostly not tied. She gets to know her kidnappers well, and tries to analyze the situation as best she can. Leo is the violent one and the leader of the group, and the owner of a gun that he's not afraid to use. Dodie is the gentle, nice one, a down on her luck woman who also happens to be pregnant. Gerard, Dodie's boyfriend, is also down on his luck.

Suzie tries everything in her arsenal - consisting only of her wits and charm - to turn the situation in her favor. She tries telling Dodie and Gerard that her mother, an important individual in town, could get them a job (when in reality, Suzie believes her mom would happily kill them if given the chance!). She tries threatening the kidnappers indirectly, telling them that the police are coming and that by switching from robbery to kidnapping, they don't have a chance. Suzie plays on the kidnappers' fears and insecurities, trying to use the nicer ones to her advantage. She also, of course, tries escaping, to varying degrees of success.

This book is very fast-moving, and also surprisingly funny and fun at times, despite the drama. The reason is pretty unexpected: being first-person narration, the story is told from Suzie's perspective even when relating scenes Suzie isn't in (such as her mother and sister worrying about her), and Suzie is a very sarcastic narrator. She makes sharp observations on her kidnappers' failings, on the failure of the police, the idiocy of the news media, and even sometimes mocks her own failures to escape.

Suzie's humorous narration doesn't clash with the drama, but instead adds a wonderful layer of personality to the book, making it a more human story. The result is that the story feels as if it's being told by someone who really did live all these events, and is relating to the reader an exciting tale of her own kidnapping and escape, complete with her uncensored and rather blunt thoughts on everything that happened and everything involved.

If you're in the mood to try something a little different - a suspenseful story that mixes in at-times laugh-out-loud sarcastic humor - than I'd easily recommend this. It's tense, fun, and entertaining.

[Beth Keeling · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5

[Sheila Myers · Rating 5 out of 5]

A nice mix of drama and suspense.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the story of three teenagers--ages 19, 17, and 16--who botch up a store robbery by kidnapping an innocent 15-year-old. It's told in first person and uses a lot of flashbacks. Suzie and her single mother are both strong characters. It's pretty grim and the ending is very sad (although Suzie gets away).

[Sydney · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was an interesting book. It wasn't very easy to pay attention when you first started reading it, but then, it got more exciting (and grim). I got confused in some parts because Suzie Q keeps going to AFTER the escape when it's still during the story WHILE she's still kidnapped.

[Pippa · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very feisty, intelligent girl as heroine. A very strong role model for girls, and a single parent mother as well. A bit gruelling though.

[Robert Kaufman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good story, I always like strong female characters!

[Dimitrios Chytiris · Rating 3 out of 5]

I guess it was an ok book but kind of childish and too simple for my taste. Maybe the book is kind of nice and the actual problem is my age hehe