Don't Look Now
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A Lot or a Little?
The parents' guide to what's in this book.
What Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that Don't Look Now, the sequel to Don't Turn Around, is a fast-paced, fairly realistic cyberthriller about teen hackers waging war against a sinister corporation that performs illegal medical experiments on unsuspecting runaways. There's a good deal of violence, including gunfights, the use of nerve gas, and instances of arson. Until this volume's climax, little of the mayhem is deadly. (An exception is the beating death of man.) The final scenes include many fatalities, among both the teens and the villains. The language is occasionally salty, with a "hell," "bitch," "bastard," "damn" and "s--t" here and there. The various teen characters flirt and sometimes make out with each other, but they're usually interrupted before things proceed too far. (Peter falls into bed with his former girlfriend, but it's unclear whether they engage in sexual activity.)
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What's the Story?
DON'T LOOK NOW picks up where Don't Turn Around left off. Noa and her friend Zeke are in the West, on the run from the sinister corporation Pike & Dolan, which is using teens as guinea pigs in medical experiments. Back in Boston, Peter uses his hacker skills to feed Noa's team information about secret research facilities. Never really sure whom they can trust, Noa and Peter put themselves in grave physical danger to protect their friends and fight against a vast, well-funded conspiracy.
Is It Any Good?
Don't Look Now continues its predecessor's agreeable mix of physical action and technical wizardry. Noa and Peter are compelling protagonists, with complementary strengths and weaknesses, and the strategies they use to fight against Pike & Dolan are described with suspense and emotional feeling.
As the middle volume of a trilogy, Don't Look Now sometimes feels as if it's running in place, but there are enough reversals at the end to leave readers primed for the final installment.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the dangers of unauthorized snooping in computer databases. What should be the penalties for "hacking"?
What makes an effective thriller? How does this second installment compare with the trilogy starter, Don't Turn Around?
How can online information be used to hurt people? Check out our tips on keeping teens safe online.
Book Details
- Author: Michelle Gagnon
- Genre: Mystery
- Topics: Adventures, Great Girl Role Models
- Book type: Fiction
- Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
- Publication date: August 27, 2013
- Publisher's recommended age(s): 14 - 17
- Number of pages: 336
- Available on: Nook, Audiobook (unabridged), Hardback, iBooks, Kindle
- Last updated: July 12, 2017
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