Review: Kidnapped

I bought "Kidnapped" for the same reason I've bought most of my books the past few months: it was on sale at a closing Borders location. And just like all of the other books from similar situations, I am happy with my scavenging purchase.

To top it off, the copy I grabbed is part of the Penguin Classics (RED) series, so 50% of sales go to The Global Fund to help fight AIDS in Africa (you can learn more about the special editions by CLICKING HERE). I love the design of this series: each book has the red banner at the bottom and is only black, red and white, yet each cover has it's own unique illustration. The "Kidnapped" cover was designed by Julian House.

If I were a coming-of-age boy, I would have loved "Kidnapped". It is about adventure and it is awesome. To be honest, even as a 22 year-old girl, I still loved it. And that's why Robert Louis Stevenson's classic "Kidnapped" is in fact a classic.

The story pretty obviously involves a kidnapping, and one of my favorite parts of reading this book was waiting for the kidnapping to actually happen. The suspense was pretty great and totally brought me into the story. Not only does the main character David get involved with kidnapping, he also has  experiences shipwreck, murder and sword fighting. Seriously, boys these days need more stories like "Kidnapped" and less "Animorphs" (are people still reading those? I hope not).

Sure, "Kidnapped" isn't on my list of favorite books of all time, but it definitely surprised me and I'm glad I read it. And if I ever have kids, I guarantee this will be on their bookshelf.