Final Crossing.

Rodman, Sean.  Final Crossing.  Orca      2014  107p  $9.95 ISBN 978-1-4598-0552-1  ms/hs      Realistic fiction, Hi-lo   VG   

Will and Big O are brothers and best friends.  Having learned robbery techniques from their currently-imprisoned father, the boys have survived by stealing from others.  The pair decides to clean up their act and go to live with their respectable uncle, but they need a hundred dollars to get there.  In the duo’s final heist to raise this money, they plan to steal loose change out of cars being transported on a ferry while the unaware owners are on the upper decks.  As they pick locks on various cars and count their money, they come upon a van from which strange noises are coming.  When Will picks the lock, he discovers a kidnapping victim, a girl. Action and suspense build and build as the boys try to help the girl escape while evading the authorities because of their own activities.

This Hi/Lo novel will resonate well with young, struggling and reluctant readers.  The action begins on the first page and does not end until the last.  Written at a lower reading level, the text will not intimidate readers.  The plot is exciting and well written.

Summary: Determined to change their criminal behaviors and go to live with their uncle, brothers and best friends Will and Big O plan one last heist, robbing cars on a ferry, when they stumble upon a kidnapping victim.
           

Brothers-Fiction, Crime-Fiction                       --Virginia McGarvey