Chasing the Skip by Janci Patterson

Chasing the Skip by Janci Patterson

Rating: 4 of 5 stars
Reviewer : Guest reviewer Lee Ann Setzer
YA Fiction


Book Description from Amazon: Ricki’s dad has never been there for her. He’s a bounty hunter who spends his time chasing parole evaders—also known as “skips”—all over the country. But now since Ricki’s mom ran off, Ricki finds herself an unwilling passenger in a front-row seat to her father’s dangerous lifestyle.

Ricki’s feelings get even more confused when her dad starts chasing seventeen-year-old Ian Burnham. She finds herself unavoidably attracted to the dark-eyed felon who seems eager to get acquainted. But Ricki thinks she’s ever in control—the perfect manipulator. Little does she know that Ian isn’t playing their game by her rules.

Lee Ann's Thoughts: Bounty hunters. I kind of knew they existed somewhere waaay outside my daily experience, but I never really thought about them, until I read this book. From my entirely unenlightened point of view, the author does a fabulous job portraying a real-life, non-reality-show bounty hunter (with daughter in tow), complete with excursions to less-glamorous locations in Colorado, Wyoming, and North Dakota. But beyond that, she draws a compelling set of real, human characters.

No one in this book is perfect, but no one’s a cardboard cliché. By the end of the book, we understand the motivations of the neglectful mom, the absentee dad, the rebellious teen girl, and even the grand theft auto felon. Ricki makes some really, really stupid decisions…but, based on her feelings and experiences, the reader can understand, even though there’s no way to agree with her choices. The book ends on a hopeful note: the characters’ direction is more important than where they started, or what mistakes they made along the way.

This book comes with a definite sensitivity warning. As noted, the characters are real, and their language is occasionally rough, up to and including that one “R-rated” word, twice. The crudity isn’t overused, and it fits with the tone of the story, but if that’s a show-stopper for you, then you’ll want to choose a different book. Otherwise, this would be a great book to read together with a teen, and talk over together afterward.