On the Loose

Title: ON THE LOOSE
Author: Jenny B. Jones
Publisher: THINK Books
2007
ISBN: 978-1-60006-115-8
Genre: Inspirational/young adult

Katie Parker has been with her new foster parents in In Between, Texas, for six months, and things are just beginning to get a groove. But when a tornado spins through In Between, nothing remains the same. When Katie’s foster mother, Millie, is taken in for stitches she sustained during the tornado, the doctor discovers a lump in her breast which ultimately leads to a diagnosis of breast cancer.

Millie’s mother, Maxine, Katie’s foster grandmother, is left homeless as a result of the tornado, and she moves in with Katie. Katie isn’t overly thrilled with having to share a bedroom with her wacky foster grandma, but that isn’t the worst of it.

Add in a best friend with a speech-robbing crush, a science fair project, and a leading role in the drama project and it adds up to a dizzying schedule. But when someone in the school has a vendetta against Katie, it is going to take more than Katie’s got to prove her innocence. But will help come in time?

ON THE LOOSE is the second book in Ms. Jones’s Katie Parker Production series. I had the privilege of reading book one and book three, but I missed ON THE LOOSE when it first came out so I wanted to go back and see what I missed. I recommend reading the books in order because the story line will make more sense if they are read in the correct order.

Katie is an incorrigible high-schooler who I can’t help but love. I also can’t help but love her foster parents and her foster grandmother. There are several laugh out loud moments in the book, especially in regards to Katie’s best friend’s predicament, though Maxine added a few colorful moments of her own. Don’t miss ON THE LOOSE, or any of the other books in this series. $12.99. 367 pages.