Deception

Title: Deception
Author: Lee Nichols
Grade: B
Ideal Audience: Girls, 13-16

Summary: When Emma's parents leave her home alone for a few weeks, as they are away on a trip, Emma isn't anticipating any problems.  After all, her house is also partially a store, and their employee can help take care of her.  Plus, if Emma encounters any problems, her parents will be back in a flash.

But that isn't at all how it goes.  The employee quits, so Emma is left all on her own.  Even worse, her parents have decided to take an extended trip into an area with no phone service, so Emma has no way to contact her parents and doesn't know when they'll be back.

Then a classmate reports the situation to the police, and Emma risks going into foster care... until her older brother's former friend, Bennett, shows up, claims to be Emma's guardian, and whisks her across the country to Massachusetts.

But strange things are going on, and soon Emma is fearing for her sanity.  However, she soon learns that much deeper and more dangerous things are going on, and only she has the power to sort through the situation, if Emma could only get the truth.

My thoughts: I was initially put off by Deception's completely unrealistic beginning.  Would two intelligent, caring parents really leave their daughter alone for weeks without a set plan and no contact with her?  And why wouldn't Emma have immediately demanded answers from Bennett when he claimed to be her guardian?

However, the plot quickly picked up and I became engrossed in the story.  Emma became more likable as the novel continued, and by the end, I was completely hooked.  I'm looking forward to the second novel in this haunting series!

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