Blood Donor

by Karen Bass

Overview

Seventeen-year-old Jo McNair is one minute late for her curfew, and thanks to her controlling father, she's now locked out, cold and wandering the streets.

She has no money and nowhere to sleep. Halfway through the night she meets someone who says they’re with a group working with at-risk kids, helping them get back on their feet. Jo gratefully accepts the offer of shelter for the night, only to find she has walked into a kidnapper’s trap. Now Jo and several other teens are being held prisoner. Their captors drug them regularly and force them to donate their blood. What is so special about the teens’ blood? And how long before they’re drained dry? When one of the teens doesn’t return, Jo suspects their days are numbered. She has to find a way to escape before their time runs out.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781459826854
Publisher:	Orca Book Publishers
Publication date:	08/17/2021
Series:	Orca Soundings Series
Edition description:	High readability edition
Pages:	128
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 7.50(h) x 0.38(d)
Lexile:	HL400L (what's this?)
Age Range:	12 - 17 Years

About the Author

Karen Bass is the award-winning author of a number of novels for young adult readers. Her novel Graffiti Knight won the CLA Young Adult Book Award, the Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical Fiction for Young People, the R. Ross Annett Award and the CAA Exporting Alberta Award, among other honors. Uncertain Soldier, winner of the Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical Fiction for Young People, and The Hill were both nominated for the Forest of Reading Red Maple Award. Karen was a public library manager in Alberta for sixteen years before turning to full-time writing. She lives in Hamilton, Ontario.

Editorial Reviews

Utterly un-putdownable. The dyslexia-friendly print and tight writing will draw in reluctant readers, but everyone will enjoy this thriller.

Marsha Skrypuch

Excels in all aspects…An excellent choice for striving readers, especially those interested in thrillers or mysteries.

CM: Canadian Review of Materials

2021-06-16
Locked out of her house one night by her controlling father, Joanne is targeted and becomes one of a group of teens abducted for their blood.

Jo is taking cover at a bus shelter when a representative from the Street Youth Network convinces her that they can provide her with a bed while she gets back on her feet. It’s in fact a devious ploy. She’s drugged and wakes up in a locked basement where she finds a group of homeless teens, all nonconsenting blood donors. The diabolical reason for the blood draws is all the more ominous because it’s just about plausible: Their blood is being used in anti-aging treatments at the exclusive Re-JUVE-nation spa. The tension intensifies when one of the captives learns that the spa is moving. The teens speculate that they will be left behind—once they are entirely drained. Jo has a plan, and it’s all heart-pounding action from there as Jo attempts to evade the dogs and Taser-wielding guards and escape. Although the focus is firmly on the action, the story provides a peek at the plight of street kids and ends on a realistic note. The cast defaults to White.

A fast-paced read with strong appeal for reluctant readers who are true-crime fans. (Thriller. 13-18)

Kirkus Reviews