HIDEOUT, by Watt Key

The story: Sam hates remembering getting beat up in front of the whole school, so he's taken to cruising the bayou by himself in his fishing boat. When he meets Davey, a kid his age who's hiding out in the swamp all alone, Sam worries about him, even though it's obvious Davey isn't telling the truth about why he's out there. Sam wants to help--but helping means lying to his parents and friends. What he doesn't realize is that helping Davey is also going to put both of them in mortal danger.

June Cleaver's ratings: Language PG-13; Violence PG; Sexual content G; Nudity G; Substance abuse PG-13; Magic & the occult G; GLBT content G; adult themes (abusive foster parents; family life of crime) PG; overall rating PG.

Liz's comments: Hand this one to boys looking for an adventure story in an unusual location. I liked Key's "Terror at Bottle Creek" better, but if you can get over the dumbness of a kid thinking he can fix everything in a truly dangerous situation by himself without getting adult help, this one is good too. (And luckily, the grown-ups do show up to facilitate a happy ending.)