Not if I save you first by Ally Carter

Scholastic, 2018. ISBN 9781742765945
(Age: 12+) Recommended. Themes: Thriller. Kidnapping. Conspiracies. Alaska. Survival. Maddie and Logan were inseparable until a kidnapping attempt was made on Logan's mother and Maddie's father foiled the attempt. He was the bodyguard of Logan's father, the President of the United States, and after the rescue, Maddie was whisked off to the wilds of Alaska, and didn't hear from Logan again. Life was tough for Maddie in Alaska; she lived in a very isolated spot, was homeschooled and didn't have any friends. What made it worse was that Logan her best friend didn't answer her letters so when he turned up with two security guards to live with her father and her, she wasn't too happy. Then Logan is kidnapped and Maddie has to use all the skills she has learnt in the wild to try and rescue him.
A very exciting stand-alone novel, Not if I save you first will appeal to boys and girls alike as Maddie and Logan face the harshness of the wilderness and the fear of what the kidnappers will do. Through a series of letters to Logan, some never sent, the reader is taken on Maddie's learning journey about Alaska, her loneliness and the growth of strength and toughness that the isolation has taught her. All these skills will be of great assistance as she tracks Logan and his kidnapper. Meanwhile Logan uses his photographic memory and intelligence as they try not to lose themselves in the harsh cold conditions.
Action packed, this is a roller coaster of a story and readers will find it very difficult to put down. Fans of Ally Carter's other series, The Gallagher girls, Heist Society and Embassy Row will not be disappointed and readers new to her books are in for a treat.
Pat Pledger