Squeeze

Gr 6—10—A fast-paced, compulsively readable book. Fifteen-year-old Byron; his dad; and his older brother, Jesse, are all into caving. When the boys' father is called away on urgent business, their mother reluctantly allows them to go on a long-planned expedition without him. They are accompanied by Michelle, Jesse's girlfriend, and Jesse's sketchy college roommate, Cole. The action centers on a packet of documents that Cole carries with him into the cave. It contains personal information about students at the University of Victoria that could be used to steal their identities. Michelle, who works in the registrar's office there, gets hold of them and confronts Cole, who takes off, abandoning the others and cutting off their escape rope. The plot creaks a little—the reasons given for Cole bringing the documents into the cave with him are not entirely convincing—but Byron's actions in leading the trio to safety after his brother is injured are genuinely exciting. Information about caving is woven seamlessly into the narrative, and descriptions of the beauty of underground rock formations are often quite lyrical. With fairly simple vocabulary, short cliff-hanger chapters, and nonstop action, this is a great choice for reluctant readers.—Richard Luzer, Fair Haven Union High School, VT