SAMMY KEYES AND THE SEARCH FOR SNAKE EYES
by Wendelin Van Draanen
Young Yearling
ISBN: 0375811753
Ages 10-13
277 pages

• Read an Excerpt

Seventh-graders Sammy and her best friend Marissa have a lot on their minds. They will soon be playing in the Junior Sluggers' Cup softball tournament at William Rose Junior High. This isn't just any softball game, it's a game that the entire town attends and cheers on. But little do Sammy and Marissa know that they're about to have much more to worry about than winning a tournament.

One day after softball practice the girls go to the arcade at the mall. Sammy doesn't care much for playing games, but Marissa is a whiz at the games and Sammy tolerates it because she wants to hang out with her friend and talk. While Sammy is standing around in the arcade, a frightened girl hands her a Sears shopping bag and tells Sammy to meet her back at the arcade at 7 p.m. that night. Sammy is dumbfounded, and before she knows it, she's agreed to this stranger's instructions. What Sammy discovers in the bag is more than she ever bargained for --- a baby!

To make matters worse, some guy with a snake tattoo on his arm and cold, hard, black eyes is obviously looking for the girl that handed her the shopping bag. This isn't just a creepy guy --- he has "hatred for eyes" and "steel for a mouth." Sammy calls him Snake Eyes. And worst of all, when Sammy leaves the mall, she is sure she's being followed by a street gang!

SAMMY KEYES AND THE SEARCH FOR SNAKE EYES is full of danger and excitement as Sammy sets out to find the mother of the baby. Sammy learns how lucky she is to have a good home and a loving family and, even though she finds her usual dose of trouble, she sets a great example of how compassion can help to change people's lives.

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