Friday, May 18, 2012

Run Like Hell

Andrews, Elena. Run Like Hell. Amazon Digital Services. AISN B0076OUIDM



Plot Summary

                Morgan is on her way to a party driving her parent’s car, which she is forbidden to do because they’re out of town, when she runs out of gas.  Her phone is dead and she has no choice but to wait in the car for someone to stop and help or to get out and walk to the nearest gas station.  Too bad the road she is stuck on is paralleled by forest on each side for as far as the eye can see.  She thinks she may have lucked out when a car stops behind her.  The man offers to give her a ride but something about him makes her say no.  Several minutes later she gets out of the car to check and see if she has a gas can when another car stops behind her.  It turns out it’s the guy from before.  This time she accepts a ride but, after passing several very open gas stations, she realizes she’s made a terrible mistake. 
                Morgan decides to jump out of the car and run, but will she be able to get away?  The story that follows is an amazing roller coaster of thrilling moments and terrifying situations.  There is more to this guy than Morgan originally thought.  What does he want with her, specifically?  Morgan realizes she left her purse in the car with him just when her driver’s license is returned to front porch.  Can Morgan figure out who this guy is and what he wants with her before it’s too late?

Critical Evaluation

                This book was a thrill ride.  Morgan does seem to do things that put her in direct [possible] danger, like walk her dog by herself at night, which leaves the reader extremely frustrated.  If she knows a man is out there that wants to hurt her, why would she go anywhere alone?  It’s the classic horror movie question, but fictional damsels in distress keep making the same mistakes.  The back story of the stalker does seem to take away some of the excitement from the first chapters, but it all seems to tie in. 
                I read this as a Kindle e-book and there were a lot of spelling errors and other things that took away from the book in general.  Looking past those, however, this book does deliver a message about how some guys can become so fixated on a girl that they’ll do anything to make them theirs.  Morgan actually ends up just being the doppelganger of a girl stalker guy had killed years earlier and that is why he’s interested in her.  It’s all very coincidental but that can be a good thing.  My biggest critique, as I’ve stated earlier, are the stupid, careless mistakes Morgan makes near the end of the book (i.e. going out alone at night). 

Reader’s Annotation

Never get into a car with a stranger – you just might get yourself up a homicidal stalker.

Author’s Information

This is Elena Andrews first book.  She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband and three boys.  Read a poem she wrote about herself and then click over to her blog here:  http://www.elenaandrews.blogspot.com/p/about-me.html

Genre

Suspense/Mystery

Book Talking Ideas

I’d start off by saying that Morgan gets kidnapped in the first few pages.  I’d also say that she jumps out of a moving car to get away from him.  But I probably won’t say if she does or not.  I think that might work.

Reading Level/Interest

12/14

Challenge Issues

Other than the suspenseful moments, not much about this book will probably be challenged.  There is little to no swearing in this book, other than the slight swear in the title.  That might put some parents off.  

Why Include This Title?

I’m including this title because after I read the first few pages, I couldn’t put it down.  Even if there are minor problems or things that frustrate the reader, there is something about this book that made me read it in just a few hours, even when I had other things I needed to do.  

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