The One Left Behind

Mandy is eleven years old and she has a really big family. She also once had a twin sister, but the sister died of food poisoning.

Mandy's parents, all her brothers and one brother's wife have left for a variety of different activities. Each one of them thought that one of the others was going to be taking Mandy along with them, but through miscommunication Mandy gets left behind at the house, alone except for the presence of a huge but rather cowardly dog.

It's Mandy's chance to show she can be grown-up, but things take a dark turn when she finds out her house has been entered and someone has been taking things. She finds that she's now involved with a young kidnapper and his even younger brother and men who will stop at nothing to get their hands on the two boys.

With her life and the life of the older brother in danger the only thing between her and death is her cowardly, ever-hungry dog.

This is basically a mystery-type book. It's ok but it's a little contrived, what with her having that large of a family and everyone just happens to get confused about who is taking care of her. It also might be a little on the scary side for young readers, at least for very sensitive ones. It's worth reading, but not something that I would put in a “must-read” list.

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