Ilene S. Goldman (Children's Literature)
Scottish author and poet Tom Pow gives teens a fictional memoir worthy of our post-9/11 fears, complete with a kidnapping, political heft, and unrequited love. Martin and his parents, along with another couple and their teenage daughter, are kidnapped by guerillas during a vacation to a fictitious Caribbean island. Upon their rescue and repatriation, Martin’s father publishes a serialized memoir based on a journal he kept during their month in captivity. As Martin reads his father’s words, he finds the story sanitized, lacking its depth and soul. In the second half of Pow’s novel, Martin retells the story, alternating points of view to humanize all the characters, including his captors. The narrative asks its reader to consider global and local politics as well as the ramifications of remembering history from a variety of viewpoints. A coming of age novel, Captives teaches us that maturing involves not only finding love and finding oneself, but, perhaps more importantly, understanding how one fits into a larger picture. 2007, Roaring Brook Press, $17.95. Ages 15 to 17.

Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews, April 15, 2007 (Vol. 75, No. 8))
Complex yet accessible, this intriguing adventure story offers unexpected depth. Vacationing on the island of Santa Clara, Martin and his parents are kidnapped along with another family, caught up in the social unrest caused by a greedy, dictatorial regime. Forced to stay on the move, they hike through the forest and camp in primitive conditions, fearing for their lives. The unusual format adds to the book's appeal. After a brief prologue, excerpts from Martin's father's published diary describe the 28 days of their captivity. Martin's version, which follows, is more nuanced, more detailed and offers a major twist, including information his father didn't have or was too blind to see. Finally, the postscript gives a glimpse into the experience of the sole surviving rebel and hints of changes that may come to Santa Clara. Pow tells a fascinating tale, perfectly nails the perspective of a teenager, provides just enough background information about the island to pique readers' interest and pulls off an unlikely amalgam of politics, adventure, family drama and love story. Unique and rewarding. 2007, Neal Porter/Roaring Brook, 192p, $17.95. Category: Fiction. Ages 13 up. Starred Review. © 2007 Kirkus Reviews/VNU eMedia, Inc. All rights reserved.

Adam Hofer (The ALAN Review, Spring/Summer 2007 (Vol. 34, No. 3))
Tom Pow’s book, Captives, throws us in a world of exotic jungles as we follow the reflective narratives of two tourists, a son and father, who were captured by rebels. The depiction of the rebels, who hope to change the government’s influence on the economic destruction caused by big companies, becomes an intimate experience for both the characters and the reader. Pow’s two-part story--one from the father’s perspective and the second from the son-- allow for all of the gaps to be filled in. Captives challenge the ideas of a family and how, through tough situations, it is family who sticks next to you. Despite knowing the climactic end to the story from the prologue, Captives offers a page-turning experience wondering what will happen to the captured hostages as they venture through the jungle. Category: Family/Survival. YA--Young Adult. 2007, Roaring Brook Press, 185 pp., $17.95. Ages young adult.Brookville, IN

Elizabeth Bush (The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books, September 2007 (Vol. 61, No. 1))
Both the travel agencies and the State Department bulletins assured the Phillips family that their Caribbean vacation destination was tourist friendly. Nobody could accuse them of being foolhardy travelers lurching into trouble, yet they and the Deschamps family were kidnapped by a small group of activists protesting the machinations of an American nickel-mining company exploiting their island and the corrupt political leaders benefiting from private financial arrangements. The ordeal ended in a bloodbath that wiped out not only the activists but also the teenage Deschamps daughter, Louise; now Tony Phillips has written a book based on the diary he kept during their captivity, and his son, Martin, is facing the fact that his father’s version of the story doesn’t square with his own, either in fact or in emotional reaction. Pow divides his tale into two sections—the first composed mainly of Tony Phillips’ freshly edited diary, and the second of Martin’s review of the ordeal, in which it becomes clear that all parents misunderstood Martin’s relationship (actually, lack thereof) with Louise, Louise’s brief affair with one of her captors, and the full background of the hostage-takers’ lives that led them to violent action. The dual-perspective approach is effective, and the action is tense (even through the outcome has been revealed up front). Though the explanations don’t effectively explore the corporate/political machinations on the island, kids who simply come for the tale of two teens caught in an international nightmare will be too engrossed in the what to worry about the why. Review Code: R -- Recommended. (c) Copyright 2006, The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. 2007, Porter/Roaring Brook, 185p, $17.95. Grades 7-10.

Kelly Czarnecki (VOYA, June 2007 (Vol. 30, No. 2))
Usually the last thing on anyone's mind when going on a family vacation is a sudden attack by terrorists while driving down the road. Yet that is exactly what happens to two families who find themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time while going to the National Park. The reader views each day of captivity through diaries that Tony, Martin's father, and Carol's husband kept of their ordeal. Sometimes the diaries feel like the only thing that keeps the nightmare real. Martin has another take on what happened that alternates with the diaries. Why would it happen to them in the first place? Melanie, from the other family that is kidnapped, surmises that the guerillas want to get rid of their president who is mired in corruption. What they later find out from the terrorists themselves is that "the world is a complicated place. . . . And this 'game' . . . is held in a delicate balance." If the terrorists kidnap the tourists, they feel that President Quitano will have pressure put on him by the United States. The terrorists are hoping that Quitano will stop supporting such initiatives in his country that make his people live in poverty. Quitano is the uncle of one of the terrorists. Teen readers will enjoy this fast-paced book and three-dimensional characters. It might require some pushing if they are not particularly interested in politics, but the story is not too difficult to follow. VOYA CODES: 3Q 3P S (Readable without serious defects; Will appeal with pushing; Senior High, defined as grades 10 to 12). 2007, Roaring Brook, 192p., $17.95. Ages 15 to 18.

Chelsea Gerhard, Teen Reviewer (VOYA, June 2007 (Vol. 30, No. 2))
An idyllic vacation gone wrong leaves Martin and his family in the midst of the Santa Clara rainforest, prisoners of the native freedom fighters who intercepted their hike through a National Forest. Over the course of their captivity, the protagonists learn about the politics surrounding their capture and the state of affairs that has molded the lives of their captors. This story was written in two parts: Martin's father's sensationalized diary that becomes the public version of their captivity, and Martin's reaction to his father's diary showing what may be a more accurate version. Although at times confusing, this literary device adds complexity and interest to the story. VOYA CODES: 3Q 2P S (Readable without serious defects; For the YA with a special interest in the subject; Senior High, defined as grades 10 to 12). 2007, Roaring Brook, 192p., $17.95. Ages 15 to 18.