The Secret of Rover

by Rachel Wildavsky, Antonio Caparo

Overview

The Secret of Rover follows the clever and resourceful twins Katie and David as they race across the country in their attempt to outwit an international team of insurgents who hold their parents and baby sister captive in a foreign land.

Held hostage because they invented a spy technology called Rover that can locate anyone in the world, Katie and David’s parents are in grave danger. Now, it’s up to Katie and David to rescue them. But first they must find their reclusive uncle, whom they have never met—the only person they know who can help them.

This page-turning story from a debut author with insider knowledge of Washington is fun, suspenseful, and convincingly real.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781613120910
Publisher:	ABRAMS
Publication date:	03/01/2011
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Lexile:	690L (what's this?)
File size:	3 MB
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Rachel Wildavsky is a former journalist who has written for the Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal, among many other publications. She has also worked for the White House under two presidents. Today she works for a private educational philanthropy. She lives outside Washington, DC, with her husband and their three children.

Editorial Reviews

Gr 5–8—Katie and David's mom and dad are no ordinary parents. Along with Mrs. Bowden's reclusive brother, Alex, they are the designers of Rover, a top-secret spying device recently purchased by the U.S. government. The sale of Rover brings the family a financial windfall, so they are finally able to afford the third child they have always wanted. The kids are thrilled when their parents decide to adopt a baby from the war-torn nation of Katkajan, which is clearly meant to resemble a Middle Eastern country. The night before leaving to pick up Theo, the Bowdens introduce a Katkajanian nanny who will care for Katie and David while their parents are away. Unfortunately, Trixie is not a nanny, but a member of a gang of insurgents. Her counterparts kidnap the Bowdens and Theo as soon as they arrive, and David and Katie become prisoners in their own home. A daring escape leads them to their reclusive uncle in the mountains of Vermont. A breathtaking game of cat and mouse follows as the kidnappers pursue them relentlessly, and they fight to save their parents and sister. David and Katie's relationship is realistically and amusingly portrayed in all its sibling rivalry and friendship. Their smarts and moxie are tempered with just enough rash impulsiveness to make them believable. Fans of Roland Smith's "I.Q" series (Sleeping Bear) will love this fun, intelligent, political page-turner.—Mandy Lawrence, Fowler Middle School, Frisco, TX

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