Kidnapping Kevin Kowalski
by Mary Jane Auch

My rating: 4.5 / 5
Genre: Children’s fiction

After an accident, Kevin Kowalski isn’t quite the same anymore. But his best friends, Ryan and Mooch, think he can do more than his mom will let him do, and they plan to prove it to him by kidnapping him.

Another book I remember from childhood, I read this again recently so I could discuss it with my daughter. We both enjoyed the antics that the kids get up to in the book and like the friendship displayed. While it certainly isn’t easy for Ryan and Mooch to know how to act around their friend who has some brain damage from a bike accident, I appreciate the narrator, Ryan, in his attempts to learn how to be the friend Kevin needs. There is a moment in the story when a group of older kids are hanging out in the woods near where our main characters are camping, and it gets a little risque, but not graphic. Still, it gave me pause, as I knew my 12-year-old daughter had read the scene as well, and she did say it got a little uncomfortable for her too. Other than that, though, I enjoyed the book, as did my daughter.

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