Hit and Run

by Mark Delaney

Book Overview

Meet Misfits, Inc. Investigations: Peter, the genius; Jake, the athlete; Byte, the computer whiz; Mattie, the magician.

These four teenage super-sleuths have a knack for uncovering and solving unsolvable crimes. In their sixth case, an appeal from an old friend lands the young detectives in the middle of a mystery surrounding a hit-and-run accident. What at first seems like a routine investigation quickly turns dangerous as the four...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1561452750
• ISBN13: 9781561452750
• Release Date: October 2002
• Publisher: Peachtree Publishers
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 0.46 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.0" x 7.1"
• Age Range: 10 to 14 years
• Grade Range: Grades 5 to 9

Customer Reviews

Review of Hit and Run

Hit and Run was a masterful piece of writing! I like very much how the author included serious themes in the story, like teen pregnancy, single motherhood, drug running, gangs, neighborhoods in poverty, and more. He handled these beautifully without either softening them up or playing on their sensationalistic sides. Very good for the thoughtful teen reader. Using Heather to help Mattie see his mother in a new way was terrifically done. The budding romances among the Misfits with their uncertainties, hesitations, and confusions; flawed adults (like Mrs. Washington and Rhonda, for example) presented realistically; the brief looks into the personal lives of both Sam and Decker; and other side stories added a lot of depth and believability to the overall story. I also think that the way he showed how Gordon treated his nephew Dustin was subtle but powerful. There was a real "chill" factor in there. One of my favorite scenes was the one in which the Misfits are leaving Jerome's apartment and see their logo written on a stop sign, and feel as if they are being pursued. That really sent chills up my spine--mostly because it was so believable. The author knows how to get into people's minds and hearts, teens' and older folks', and draws their own thoughts and feelings into the situations and scenes he creates. Because they are so believable, the good lessons he draws out are all the more compelling, such as, "God watches out for single mothers"--great line, and one can feel the blunt force of its effect on Mattie without the author's having to write one word about it. And of course seeing how Mattie changes and grows through the emotional encounters with his mother's being back in his life. Some of the best parts of the author's writing is where he leaves things unmentioned; the reader has no choice but to "finish the scene". That occurs in several places in Hit and Run, but none better than in the very last line: "Okay," his mother whispered back. "Let's start there." The entire Misfits, Inc. series was topnotch. It started with a very good story and got better with each entry. I'm sorry there are only six books in the series, and glad that I read them all.