Goldstrike by Matt Whyman

Whyman, Matt Goldstrike, 262 p. Atheneum (Simon), 2010.  $16.99.  Language: PG, Violence: PG-13.  Carl Hobbes and Beth managed to survive their escape from a maximum, super-secret detention facility – and the extreme arctic conditions surrounding them, and they have even managed to evade any and all CIA, FBI, domestic and foreign agents who may be after them.  But just as Carl settles into a dream job, working in a high-security cargo company with the world’s smartest computer, where he may be able to cover their tracks forever, Beth gets itchy feet and itchy fingers.  Now, instead, their lives are in danger – caught between a bounty hunter who wants the price on their heads and an assassin who wants the price fore them dead.  For the life of me, I can’t understand why Carl keeps saving Beth’s skin – she doesn’t appeal to me as a character at all.  But Carl’s brains, nerve and feats of derring-do more than make up for Beth.  The set-up takes a bit, but the action is non-stop heart-pounding once it gets going.  MS, HS – ADVISABLE. Cindy, Library Teacher.