Full Ride

Full Ride by Margaret Peterson Haddix, 343 pages

Becca’s dad was convicted and sentenced to ten years in prison for several cases of fraud. He cheated lots of people out of money, all the while claiming his innocence. Becca and her mom knew nothing about it and were stunned when he was arrested. To get away from the press, they moved to a smaller town where they hoped to hide their identities and live quietly, on much less money. All of this happened at the beginning of Becca’s freshman year of high school. Now she is a senior and planning for college, but may not be able to pay for it because if she applies for financial aid, questions may come up about her identity and blow her cover. Becca’s wondering why it still matters after so long anyway, which is when her mother explains that, because of her father’s crimes, there may be people out to hurt or kill his family, which is the real reason they’ve been hiding. Although the end of this description makes the book sound like an adventure novel, it’s really much more about a girl trying to discover who she is and the relationships she develops. It’s really well written and a really good read. Because of the topic, it should have equal appeal to teen boys and girls.