Our staff chose various topics to review and share with the students at LHS. This is part one of a 3-part series.

Don’t Turn Around by Michelle Gagnon

Sixteen-year-old Noa Torson has lived on the wrong side of the tracks almost as long as she can remember, victimized by the system since the death of her parents. Her computer her only constant companion, she chooses to live in the shadows and trust no one, using her hacking skills to remain undetected. Only when she wakes up in a warehouse with an IV in her arm and no clue as to how she got there does she begin to wish she wasn’t alone.

The next pages feature Noa’s escape and her mission to unravel the mystery of her captors, while simultaneously trying to outrun them!

We then meet Peter Gregory, a rich kid and a fellow computer hacktivist. Together the two set out to decipher why Noa’s kidnapping links with PEMA, an incurable disease threatening to wipe out the entire teenage population. Their story will force them to question the nature and integrity of all adults, from top lawyers and doctors to entire government agencies.

Don’t Turn Around isn’t considered a thriller for nothing. It kept me anxiously turning page after page. Gagnon offers a kick-butt heroine who refuses to back down from a challenge, along with an intricate plot that only reveals enough at a time to keep you guessing. If you enjoy science or computers, I highly recommend this book, but beware for snippets of foul language.

If you enjoy this book, be sure to look for Don’t Look Now, the second book in this trilogy.