• Age: 12 to 18
• Grade: 8 to 12
• Reading age: 12 to 18

Seventeen-year-old Jo McNair is one minute late for her curfew, and thanks to her controlling father, she's now locked out, cold and wandering the streets.

She has no money and nowhere to sleep. Halfway through the night she meets someone who says they’re with a group working with at-risk kids, helping them get back on their feet. Jo gratefully accepts the offer of shelter for the night, only to find she has walked into a kidnapper’s trap. Now Jo and several other teens are being held prisoner. Their captors drug them regularly and force them to donate their blood. What is so special about the teens’ blood? And how long before they’re drained dry? When one of the teens doesn’t return, Jo suspects their days are numbered. She has to find a way to escape before their time runs out.

This short novel is a high-interest, low-reading level book for teen readers who are building reading skills, want a quick read or say they don’t like to read! The epub edition of this title is fully accessible.

Karen Bass is the multi-award-winning author of a number of novels for young adult readers. Graffiti Knight won the CLA Young Adult Book Award, the Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical Fiction for Young People, the R. Ross Annett Award, and the CAA Exporting Alberta Award, among other honours. Uncertain Soldier won the Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical Fiction for Young People and was a finalist for the OLA Forest of Reading Red Maple Award. Her most recent novel, The Hill,was a White Ravens Selection and a Junior Library Guild Selection, and was nominated for the Forest of Reading Red Maple Award. Karen lives in Hamilton, Ontario, where she recently moved from northwest Alberta. There she was a public library manager for sixteen years before turning to full-time writing.

Karen Bass' profile page

• Short-listed, The Crime Writers of Canada Awards of Excellence - Best Juvenile or YA Crime Book
• Commended, CCBC Best Books for Kids & Teens
• Commended, BC Books for BC Schools
• Commended, Junior Library Guild (JLG) Gold Standard Selection

“A fast-paced read with strong appeal for reluctant readers who are true-crime fans.”

Kirkus Reviews

“Excels in all aspects…An excellent choice for striving readers, especially those interested in thrillers or mysteries.”

CM: Canadian Review of Materials