The Good Girl's Guide to Getting Kidnapped

by Yxta Maya Murray

Overview

Kiki and Mish are best friends, but what Kiki doesn't know is that Michelle Pena was born a gang princess. ?Princess P? grew up destined to inherit leadership of the Snakes: a future filled with crime and fear.

Michelle, on the other hand, is a nationally ranked athlete and academic superstar. This is her new life, and she's finally put her past, and her childhood love for Silver?to rest.

Then Silver helps kidnap both girls, and Michelle has to figure out how to free them both, and reconnect with a future that might now be beyond her reach.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781101196540
Publisher:	Penguin Young Readers Group
Publication date:	01/07/2010
Sold by:	Penguin Group
Format:	eBook
Pages:	272
File size:	375 KB
Age Range:	14 Years

About the Author

Yxta Maya Murray is the author of five other novels. She is a professor at Loyola Law School and currently lives in Studio City, California.

Editorial Reviews

Fifteen-year-old Michelle Peña is a good student and track star, living with her gay foster father. She has her sights set on a scholarship to a prestigious prep school, but is dogged by her past. She’s the offspring of gang leader parents in East L.A., and her brother, Samson, former “King” of the Snake Brothers gang, is in jail, as is their mother. Caught between two worlds, Michelle often asks herself, “Who was I anyway? The girl I was making up in my head? Track star, Ivy League–bound? Golden Child? Or... the girl I was born?” The gang’s new king has a debt to settle with Samson, who owes him drug money, resulting in the kidnapping of Michelle and her best friend. In the process, Michelle is reunited with her childhood love, Silver, and they both struggle over whether to be loyal to their gang families or break free. Adult author Murray’s YA debut is action-packed, as it raises relevant questions of identity and loyalty. This fast-paced story, heavy with street dialogue and slang, should have ample teen appeal. Ages 14–up. (Jan.)

Publishers Weekly

The pace never slows in this gripping novel.

Booklist

Gr 9 Up—As daughter of royalty in the 99s, a gang in LA, 15-year-old Michelle Peña, Princess P, was never sure that this type of life was for her. Michelle's mother agreed and placed her in foster care. After several foster homes, Michelle is placed with Frank. Here she makes a new life, excelling in both sports and academics—until her blood brothers come looking for her to settle a debt. Dragon, the current king of the Snakes, needs money, and kidnapping Michelle is the fastest way to get it. She and her best friend are snatched off the streets and taken to the Snakes' hideaway in the desert. As they try to find a way out, Michelle must rely on her street smarts to save them and becomes torn between her new life and loyalty to her blood brothers. Michelle's back-and-forth shift from academic student to hardened gang member is unconvincing. And, the connection between the 99s and the Snakes and who is leading each group is confusing. However, Michelle's revelation that she wants both worlds—to be leader of her gang and to be loved by Frank—is telling of her age and the allure of gang life. Readers with a fascination for gangs will pick this up, but with so-so characters and a plot that drags, it may not hold their interest.—Kelley Siegrist, Farmington Community Library, MI

School Library Journal

On the day Michelle Pena wins in the qualifying rounds for All-American track and earns a spot on her school's academic decathlon team, she and her best friend, Kiki, are kidnapped. Michelle knows her kidnappers: They're members of the gang run by her mother, Reina. Reina is serving time in prison, but her name still strikes fear in the hearts of members of the 99's. With Reina's capture, the gang collapsed, and Michelle, just 12 at the time, went to a misguided, gay, overworked but ultimately loving foster father. Despite Reina's imprisonment, the 99's are still operating, but they need royalty in the form of Princess Michelle. There's salty gang talk, an urban setting and plenty of violent action. Readers will see adult language and situations, but the focus is on a smart teen character with growing-up issues, not the adult world of gang politics. Michelle talks tough but has a soft heart for her friends and family. This may not be great literature, but it holds strong appeal for teens who can't get enough street lit. (Fiction. YA)

Kirkus Reviews