SOLVED. YA Historical Fiction. Read in early 1990s. Kidnapping with shotgun." There ain't no privy here, boy, but you pick any bush you like." [s]

[Zev]

The cover was dark red or blue? It was hardback. It's written in first person, but I can't remember if it was past or present tense. I don't think the book was long. There was a kidnapping plot or subplot. Ezra was kidnapped midway through the book by a man named Peter. Another man with an S name was in the book as well. He takes Ezra out deep in the woods, where Ezra lived in the edge of with his parents. Ezra tries to get away, but Peter catches him several times. There is mention of a shotgun, to try and keep Ezra where he is. "Then I got me a bright idea. 'I need to use the privy,' I said. He laughed. 'The privy. Aren't you fancy. There ain't no privy here, boy, but you use whichever bush you like."

Ezra does go out to the bushes, and that's when he either sees the shotgun or Peter mentions it. I have no idea why Ezra was kidnapped. I remember it as historical fiction set in the American South, maybe in the early 1900s or the late 1800s. I think he escapes or is released, and gets back with his parents. I don't remember how, or what happens to his abductor. I think he had brown hair and was between the ages of twelve and sixteen.

I'll comment if I remember anything else.

[Lobstergirl, au gratin]

Zev, please add some plot details to your topic header. This makes it easier for people scanning threads quickly to see which ones they can solve.

[Zev]

The cover was red or blue because I took the dust jacket off. I think the letters of the title were raised or sunk.

[Rainbowheart]

Are you positive about the name Ezra?

I've done a bunch of searches, but have been coming with nada.

[Orsolya Könyvtáros (formerly Memp)]

Weasel, by Cynthia DeFelice? There is a character named Ezra, and the teen narrator has to deal with a very menacing man who has a shotgun. The hardcover under its dustjacket has a red spine and blue boards.

[Zev]

Yes, that's it! Thank you.

[Rainbowheart]

Yay, glad it's solved! Good work, Memp.

I kept coming across Bringing Ezra Back, which is apparently a sequel, but I knew it couldn't be right because it was pubbed way too late, lol.

[Orsolya Könyvtáros (formerly Memp)]

Hooray! It was a long shot but after I found a picture of it without a jacket it seemed too close for coincidence.