Today’s bonus review is a cover that grabbed be from the get go:

The book jacket blurb had me anxious to immerse myself in the story:

The marshals are looking for the perfect girl to join a mother, father, and son on the run from the nation’s most notorious criminals. After all, the bad guys are searching for a family with one kid, not two, and adding a streetwise girl who knows a little something about hiding things may be just what the marshals need.

Nicki swears she can keep the Trevor family safe, but to do so she’ll have to dodge hitmen, cyberbullies, and the specter of standardized testing, all while maintaining her marshal-mandated B-minus average. As she barely balances the responsibilities of her new identity, Nicki learns that the biggest threats to her family’s security might not lurk on the road from New York to North Carolina, but rather in her own past.

The story moves along at a nice pace as 13-year-old Charlotte (the former Nicki) moves in and spends a school year with the displaced family. She’s been in foster care ever since her grandmother died so she’s well versed in adjusting to a new family. She likes the parents, but their son (her fake new brother) is not nearly as likeable. Jackson is obviously upset with the whole situation and has an attitude throughout.

Told in first person through Charlotte’s eyes, there are several chapter endings giving us an update on the bad guys pursuit of the Trevors. The school scenes ring true with the different types of kids you find in a middle school. Charlotte is far from perfect with some rather interesting skills she’s picked up.

My only negative was the tidy climatic scene that had me saying “Come on. Really?” It brought the side plots together in too convenient a fashion. Regardless, it didn’t ruin the story for me. An entertaining read that has a hint of a sequel on the final page.

With some light language and a few violent scenes, I’d recommend this one to the higher end of Middle Grade (grades six and seven).

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Coming up next week is another MARVELOUS MIDDLE GRADE MONDAY.

If you would like to join in the MMGM fun, all you have to do is blog about a middle grade book you love on a Monday (contests, author interviews and whatnot also count–but are most definitely not required) and email me the title of the book you’re featuring and a link to your blog at gpcolo (at) gmail (dot) com

 (Make sure you put MMGM or Marvelous Middle Grade Monday in the subject line so it gets sorted accurately–and please don’t forget to say what book you’re featuring) You MUST email me your link by Sunday evening (11 PM Eastern Time) in order to be included in the list of links for the coming Monday.

Thank you so much for being a part of this awesome tradition begun by Shannon Messenger and for spreading the middle grade love!

*Please note: these posts are not a reflection of my own opinions on the books featured. Each blogger is responsible for their own MMGM content and I do not pre-screen reviews ahead of time, nor do I control what books they choose. I simply assemble the list based on the links that are emailed to me.