Girl on the Run

Gr 7 Up–Growing up, Katelyn’s mom was overprotective and paranoid. She’s never been to a crowded amusement park; constantly moving around, she knows little of her dad and even less about her mom and her past. When she creates an online dating profile for her mom, her life takes a dark turn. Having made a mistake in her murky past, Katelyn’s mom has kept them running, not from something, but someone. When her mom disappears, leaving her in a motel, Katelyn turns to an unlikely source for help: Malcolm Pike, a tech whiz hired by a mysterious entity to find her mom. Who is after Katelyn and her mom? What happened to her mom? Will she figure out her mother’s history before it is too late? Narrator Imani Jade Powers does a masterful job voicing Katelyn and the other characters in the book. Her narrative pacing and intonations bring the novel to life. The characters are engaging, well-developed, and entrench the listener within the story. The plot is action-packed and engaging. Katelyn is white and Malcolm is described as Black.