Review Detail

Have you got a reluctant reader? Have I got a new series for you. Gordon Korman's On the Run: Chasing the Falconers is a fast-paced mystery/adventure that will have kids on the edge of their seats.

Kind of like The Fugitive for kids, Aidan and Meg Falconer are trapped in a juvenile detention center after their parents are convicted of treason. They escape, along with some of the other inmates, and are on a mission to prove that their parents are innocent.

How can they? They have to find the man that they know of only as Uncle Frank. He's the one that talked their parents into working undercover for the CIA, something that the government seems to have no record of.

In this first novel of the series, readers will follow along as Meg and Aidan do their best to avoid the authorities, deal with fellow escapee Miguel, and meet up with a mysterious bald guy.

This is a great series for reluctant readers. At barely over 150 pages, it is a fast read and the action is pretty non-stop. It will definitely appeal to boys, though girls will be rooting for Meg (who sometimes seems like the brains of the group). Very few false notes in this one the only thing that bugged me was Meg's continual use of the word "bro," which just didn't seem to fit an eleven-year-old girl from a sheltered upbringing. But hey, who knows. Recommended for readers age 8 and up.